


True Sight: Secrets of the Miraculous

by Jarl_Deathwolf



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Canon until Mid Season 2, Expanded Miraculous Lore, F/M, Fluff, Identity Reveal, Mutual Pining, New Year's Eve, Sleepovers, Slow Burn, Warning: Puns, eventually, then Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2019-05-21 12:15:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 206,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14915190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jarl_Deathwolf/pseuds/Jarl_Deathwolf
Summary: A year into their superhero careers, Ladybug and Chat Noir are struggling. Hawkmoth's supervillains are becoming ever more powerful and monstrous. Paris is terrorized on an almost daily basis. Worst of all, Adrien remains oblivious to the affections of his classmate, Marinette.Desperate for any edge in the fight against Hawkmoth, they pull out the mysterious spellbook in Master Fu's possession and perform an ancient ritual within.Unknown to them, this starts them on the path to discovering the secrets of the miraculous.





	1. The Ritual

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I have big plans for it. I hope you'll enjoy the ride as much as I enjoyed writing it.

“Ladybug, look out!”

Marinette didn't have time to look back as the black-clad form of Chat Noir barreled into her. A thrown car sailed over their prone forms, crashing nearby. They scrambled to their feet in preparation of the next attack from the riled up akuma – a tow truck driver who had suffered one too many screaming citizens that day. Now he terrorizes Paris as the Tow-rrible Demolisher!

She made an effort to keep her heavy breathing under control in an attempt to look less exhausted than she felt. The fight had been going on for three hours now and they'd each already had at least four transformations. This needed to end.

“Lucky charm!” Marinette called out once again for the power of creation. She winced. She could hear her voice getting hoarse from all the yelling she had done today - warning Chat Noir, shooing off citizens, calling on her powers; it was all getting taxing. “A wheel lock? How am I supposed to – oh, right.” The lower half of the akuma had taken the form of a tow truck, its hook swinging wildly for more ammunition. What else would she have used it on?

Chat Noir jumped past her. He shouted to the enemy, “I can't believe it. Hawkmoth finally found someone even worse at fighting than him!” The Tow-rrible Demolisher roared in fury as he tracked the feline hero's erratic movements. Whispering thanks, she charged towards the villain, securing the lock onto his front wheel. “He's stuck! Hit him now!” Marinette called out, wrapping her yo-yo around the monstrous enemy and pulling while Chat Noir's extended staff slammed into his side. Just as the Demolisher clattered to the ground, her partner smashed the chains and tossed the tow hook to Marinette, who shattered it in her hands.

“Bye bye, little butterfly.” Soon, the city was set back to normal, but she was no less exhausted. A quick glance at the hunched frame of her black-clad partner confirmed he wasn't feeling too great either. Their fist bump lacked any enthusiasm and they wearily watched reporters funnel out of the safety of nearby buildings. She exchanged a glance with Chat. His eyes darted between her and the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

 ------------------------------------------------------------ 

Four hours later they met up for patrol on the Eiffel Tower, having let their kwamis rest before transforming _again_ that day.

“As much as I enjoy the time with you, my lady, these fights are becoming too much.” Chat got straight to the point as he sat down next to her. 

_Skipping the banter since you're late?_ She thought to herself. She remembered his (many) complaints about an uncooperative kwami throughout their year of partnership and allowed herself a fleeting smile as she imagined Chat bargaining with a tiny floating kwami to meet with her. It disappeared as she remembered the aches in her muscles from the fight earlier that day.

“I can't argue with that. I don't know how Hawkmoth is doing it, but these akuma have only gotten stronger.” _Perhaps he is getting more familiar with his miraculous, just as Chat and I are?_ Marinette thought back to the last five fights – all in the last week. She was glad for the restoring powers of her miraculous, otherwise Paris might have already been leveled.

“There hasn't been any super-villain tough enough to beat us, but I definitely don't want to rely on my luck in the next fight.” Chat's gaze stayed fixed on a point in the distance, clearly thinking about the numerous close calls that day.

“Don't worry, kitty, I have enough luck for the both of us.” Marinette bumped shoulders with Chat, hoping to break him out of his thoughts. She took stock of their options to meet the challenge ahead of them. Not that there were many, of course. Catching Hawkmoth was ideal, but they weren't any closer to finding him than they were after defeating Stoneheart.

Her thoughts wandered to Master Fu, and the wisdom he had dispensed in the past. Not to mention those abilities he had unlocked. “The potions that Master Fu made us are great and all but if the fights are going to last so long, their powers will wear off way before the akuma is cleansed.”

“If there were magic potions in that book, do you think that he might have found anything else in there? Maybe spells to make us even stronger? Faster? More dashingly handsome? Although, I don't think if you'd be able to resist me at that point.” Chat Noir stopped himself here to flex.

Marinette rolled her eyes, but allowed herself a giggle. She was about to say expecting magic spells to solve their problem was ridiculous, but at this point she wasn't sure. It was certainly worth checking out. Nothing would be lost if they stopped by to ask.

Chat was disappointed when Ladybug pulled away from him and said, “You know, you might be onto something there, chaton. Lets see what Master Fu has to say about all this. Even if he doesn't have any spells, he might have advice for us.”

  ------------------------------------------------------------ 

It was the first time they'd both gone to Master Fu's store at the same time, and also the first time they had visited him while transformed. Still, Marinette wouldn't reveal her identity to Chat Noir over something so small.

If Master Fu was surprised at their late night appearance, he did not show it. Instead, he waved them in with a wide smile. He disappeared and a few moments later he returned with hot tea for them. Ladybug and Chat Noir accepted, and sat down at his table. They started to relate the difficulty of their recent fights, often talking over each other in their excitement.

“...an entire city block, wrecked! Thankfully all civilians had fled at that point...”

“Teeth the size of my leg! It took bites out of the cars as if they were a croissant!”

“...I swear I still can't get the smell out of my hair...”

Marinette tilted her head at that last one while Chat continued on with the rest of the villains of the week. Yeah the sewer monster was gross, but he had to be joking. Surely even smells are covered by the restoration wave?

Master Fu absorbed their stories as he put his hand to his beard. “Of course, Hawkmoth's minions have been growing ever more fearsome and monstrous. While you have risen admirably to your heroic roles, it is difficult to prepare for an enemy whose powers – and sudden appearances – are unpredictable. I am glad you came. I have been working hard to find any mysteries still in the book, and I may have discovered something of great importance.”

He walked over to his electronic copy of the book, soon followed by the superhero duo looking over his shoulders. He flicked through the pages till he found one with all seven miraculous surrounding the strange text of the guardians. “I am still struggling with deciphering the ceremonial text describing this spell, but from what I understand it is designed to empower the chosen in times of great need. Fortuitously, it requires the recipients to be present for the casting. Hawkmoth will be excluded.”

He picked up the electronic notepad and carried it into a darkened room, motioning for Ladybug and Chat Noir to follow. Instead of reaching for the light switch, as Marinette expected, he went to light a number of candles arrayed around the room. She heard Chat Noir gasp lightly. _Right, he had night vision._ As the tiny flames began pushing back the darkness, Marinette could take in the room's decor.

A double-layered circle had been drawn in a silvery powder, with very angular markings, all straight lines and right angles, carved between the two circles. They were just as meaningless to Marinette as the guardian alphabet was, and they were clearly different, but she could see similarities. They were harsher, less elegant. They felt... ancient and rough. _Maybe these markings came first?_ Marinette theorized while waiting. 

Master Fu finished by lighting candles at seven focal points in the circle. When he finished, the fires of the candles took on a different color, one for each candle: Red, black, orange, yellow, purple, green, and blue. The entire effect was a hypnotic pattern that drew the eyes toward the circle. Moments passed before Master Fu cleared his throat and asked, “Young ones? Did you hear me?”

The effect was broken. She heard Chat cough nervously as she shook her head to clear her mind. The old man was watching them expectantly. Marinette pointedly cleared her throat before speaking. “No, we were distracted by the ritual circle.” That was a guess on her part – both that Chat was as distracted as she was, and that all this was a part of the spell.

Her guess must have been right, since Chat didn't disagree with her when he responded. “So, what do we have to do? Say the magic words and then we'll be _feline_ stronger than before?” He grinned at his own pun, waiting on Master Fu's confirmation.

Instead, the old Chinese man – who she noticed wore a faint smile at Chat's pun, much to her dismay – shook his head and gestured to the open space in the center of the circle. “Most of the spell is simply getting the runes correct – which, judging based on the colored flames, they are. All that needs to be done is for the chosen who seek the blessing to step in the circle.” He pointed at the inner circle which would be just large enough to hold the both of them. If they stood back to back. “Then I will sound the gong, and the ritual will be complete.” He caught her staring at the small size of the circle. “I'm sorry for the cramped space, Ladybug. Silver powder is unfortunately expensive and my supplies were low.”

She gasped at the implied cost and hurriedly said, “Oh, it’s fine, Master Fu! Chat and I are no strangers to close encounters.” She elbowed the cat with the suggestively waggling eyebrows next to her as Master Fu stepped out of the room. Marinette looked up at Chat Noir, who was rubbing his side, and met his bright green eyes. She saw uncertainty hiding behind his bravado.

“Don't worry, kitty” She cooed, patting his head. “I'm here to protect you from the spooky magic if you're scared.”

This seemed to set him at ease as he retorted, “Oh, don't worry about me, my lady. Black cats and witchcraft go together purrfectly.

“Whenever you are ready, young ones.” They turned back to see Master Fu had returned with a small gong in hand.

They nodded to each other, eyes now set with determination. They stepped into the circle – a tight fit, as expected – only to be startled as all but two of the seven candles went out: The black flame and the red flame. The gong began to sound and the other candles arrayed around the room went out, but their light remained. Small motes of illumination gathered onto the heroes and they shifted their weight nervously.

_It feels like I'm being watched_ , Marinette thought, _but the lights are beautiful regardless_.

As the motes touched the heroes, they shifted color from the pale white they were originally into red (if touching Ladybug) or black (if they landed on Chat Noir). The room took on an ominous appearance as it was bathed in red light, the echoing of the gong beginning to have the same hypnotic draw from earlier. Once all the motes landed, the two remaining candles were snuffed out. A crescendo was felt somewhere beyond the five senses, and Marinette closed her eyes...

  ------------------------------------------------------------  

The last echoes of the gong left her mind. She opened her eyes, greeted by the worried face of Master Fu. Behind her, Chat Noir groaned. They had fallen to a sitting position, backs still against each other. She turned her head and said, “Feeling any different, Chat?”

“A bit fuzzy – I certainly wouldn't call myself the cat's meow right now. You?”

“I feel a headache coming on. What went wrong?” This last question was addressed to Master Fu. His downcast expression shifting from concern for his charges into doubt.

“The spell was successful, but nothing seems to be any different for you two. Go home, rest on it. I will look over the ritual again, perhaps there is something that I missed. Perhaps the answer will reveal itself to us, in time.”

They said their goodbyes after putting themselves back together. No sooner had Marinette detransformed back home than she was getting changed. Tikki had already fallen asleep when Marinette collapsed onto her bed, out like a candle the moment she hit the pillow.

  ------------------------------------------------------------ 

A darkened shadow appeared from midair a few feet off the ground. If anyone had been nearby they would have heard a metallic clang as the stranger hit the ground kneeling. He gasped, as if emerging from a dive underwater. One knee on the ground, a cloak obscuring his form, the figure rose to his feet and took stock of the area he was in.

Despite glaring at the skies for several minutes, he could not see any stars. While it was clearly night, and the moon was new, the city was illuminated. He stepped out of the alley, eyes widening inside his metal helmet as it took in the sights of Paris at night. He considered his options, adjusting the sword in its sheath at his hip. He remained shrouded in the shadows - he would find a hidden, abandoned place and rest until the sun came up.

Then, he would find the bearers of the cat and ladybug miraculous.

  ------------------------------------------------------------ 

“Marinette, it’s time to get up! You don't want to be late for school!” A high-pitched voice berated her. Eyes still unfocused from waking up, she caught sight of the small red blur that was her kwami. She stretched and yawned.

“Just a few more minutes, Tikki.” Marinette took comfort in the fact that she lived literally across the street from the school. _Then again_ , she thought, as reality washed over her, _that hasn't stopped me from being late before._

With minimal groaning (much to her kwami's pride), she pulled herself out of bed and began her morning preparations. Not long afterwards, she was already going down the stairs, where her family was already having an unusually early morning rush. Her parents waved as she passed, too swamped with customers to wish her a good day.

She arrived in the classroom with ten minutes to spare. Alya had already arrived and was engrossed with the video she was watching on her screen. Mustering her courage, Marinette looked in Adrien's direction, only to see that he was sharing Nino's phone, intently watching something there. Marinette tilted her head in confusion, noticing now that everyone was enraptured with what was on their phones. She sat down at her normal spot, peering over to Alya's and Nino's phones. Both had on a live stream video.

“Uh, Alya? Whats up?”

Alya looked up, catching her best friend's eyes and leaning in conspiratorially. “This morning, some medieval looking guy was spotted wandering the streets. He's got a helmet hiding his head and a leather cloak concealing everything else.”

Nino spoke up, turning around to look at both of them. “People take one look at him and run the other way. I can't blame them; that dude is seriously scary. He's got this sword, right? The police were trying to stop him and he whips it out and cuts through the barricades they put in his way!”

He made a two-handed motion like he was swinging a sword and Alya took over, “But the craziest part is he hasn't even paid attention to anyone trying to talk to him. He hasn't said anything really, except for two names: Ladybug and Chat Noir. Just yells it for no reason, likes he is calling them. It’s suuuper weird for one of Hawkmoth's minions.”

Marinette took a moment to digest this. It sounded a lot like an akuma – even hunting down the superhero duo. But she couldn't leave now. She just got here and if she left, only for Ladybug to appear right after, it would make her friends very suspicious. Whoever this new villain was, he didn't seem to be hurting anyone.

Marinette decided to keep an eye on the livestream during class, resolving to track him down after class. If he got violent – or Chat Noir showed up – she would have to do something.

The thought of blonde hair, green eyed boys reminded her of the one right in front of her. Her eyes shot up to see what Adrien was doing, only to see him staring intently at the video. He had an oddly calculating expression before he nodded and discretely turned to the same stream on his phone, balancing it on his leg as he did some last minute homework. Before she could wonder at what he was doing (or better yet, why), Miss Bustier walked in and all concerns about mysterious strangers were put aside for the moment.

  ------------------------------------------------------------ 

“Marinette! Hold up, girl!” Marinette paused, waiting for Alya to catch up with her. “What's the rush?”

She had to think for a moment to come up with a believable excuse. She couldn't exactly say 'sorry Alya! I have to see to a slow-burning akuma before things get out of hand!'

“Um, I need to... work on that jacket I've been planning. You know? The one for Adrien?” Of course, it _did_ need work, but that just made it a more plausible lie.

“What about me?” A familiar voice came from a few feet behind Marinette. Jerkily, she turned around to see Adrien watching her with his emerald eyes, Nino by his side. She was torn between dread at having to explain herself, and heart-pounding joy at his attention.

She was spared from responding by Alya pulling her into a one-armed hug, “We were just saying that Nino and you should join us one of these days at a nearby restaurant.” She leaned in and said with a friendly smile. “I hear their sushi is _amazing_.”

Following this, the discussion settled into idle conversation. Marinette prided herself on taking an active role in it, barely even stuttering at all! Adrien had to leave due to a last minute assignment by his Chinese tutor, and Marinette left Alya and Nino to 'work on her jacket.' When she got to her room, she checked the location of the weird akuma. “Tikki, spots on!”

  ------------------------------------------------------------ 

“Plagg, claws out!”

It hadn't taken long for Adrien to get home, nor did it take long for him to reach his room and escape again after setting up a decoy. By the time he was soaring through the city he realized he had forgotten to check where the stranger was. He landed and called Ladybug on his baton, hoping that she had headed out at the same time he did.

Thankfully, she picked up. “Hey, bugaboo, don't suppose you've tracked down that akuma everybody has been talking about today?”

She cocked an eyebrow at him. “You mean the one that has had a camera trained on it for the entire day now, Chaton?” _Dang. She noticed that._ He smiled brightly, hoping to cover his mistake with charm.

“That's the one! So, are you close to it?” Upon confirmation that she was, and was waiting on him, he followed his tracker to her location. He met up with her across the street from the villain, overlooking him from on top of a building. She was watching the cloaked figure through her compact.

“Any clue where the akuma is hiding, my Lady?”

“My best guess is the sword, he seems to rely on that more than anything. But my gut says something is off here. Let's try to talk him down first.”

“Are you _paw_ sitive, Bug? We'll do it your way, but if I _feline_ I'm in trouble, I'll see about holding his attention while you make a _bee_ line for his blade.” He grinned at his lady as she stood up and slowly turned to him with an exasperated look on her face.

“Three puns? Really?” She rolled her eyes and swung her yo-yo towards the stranger. 

Adrien wasn't too concerned with him – they had fought bigger and nastier akuma in the last week. This one shouldn't be much of a problem.

They landed close enough to the – stranger? Swordsman? Knight? Chat Noir wasn't sure _what_ to call him, but he was clearly prepared to fight – person to be heard, but also have enough space in case he tried anything. He stopped walking and fixed the two heroes of Paris with an unnerving stare. Adrien couldn't see much of him – a helmet covered his head with a cloak wrapped tight around him, the hood up to provide even more concealment. Long moments dragged by as he watched them and they watched him.

Ladybug spoke first, “Who are you? Why have you been calling for us?” She narrowed her eyes and her tone became more accusatory. “Are you working for Hawkmoth?”

He took a step forward. Adrien drew his staff and fell into a relaxed defensive stance, Ladybug likewise drawing her yo-yo and spinning it to make a shield. The helmet turned to look directly at Adrien's partner. “Ladybug?” A voice, given a metallic tone from within the helmet, rang out clearly. Ladybug, surprised at getting a civil response, merely nodded.

The helmet swiveled to Adrien. “Chat Noir?” Adrien gave a dramatic stage bow. “In the fur, sir!”

The stranger drew his sword and charged.


	2. The First Lesson

The swordsman charged, wielding the weapon in both hands, the blade held low enough to almost be scraping along the pavement. Marinette and Chat Noir leaped in opposite directions, trying to stay out of arm’s reach as he closed the distance. He moved much quicker than they had expected.

Marinette stopped and turned around when she saw him go after Chat Noir. Immediately, the two became locked in a flurry of blows, sword and staff colliding frequently. She took the moment to examine the swordsman. Now that his cloak wasn't concealing him, she could see a blue-trimmed white tabard with a black wolf's head symbol. The tabard was concealing breastplate. Segments of plate armor covered his legs, feet, and forearms. Beneath all of it was a layer of chain mail. A chain hood disappeared under his helmet. Not an inch of skin was visible in the overlapping protection.

But his sword was the most striking feature. The hilt and pommel were practical, but with graceful swirling patterns of gold adorning them. The blade itself was made of a white crystalline material, with oddly familiar angular symbols running down the flat of the sword. It seemed to glow with an inner light and gave off sparks as it deflected Chat's staff. Disturbingly, notches and scratches were starting to tarnish the surface of the staff. There was no doubt in her mind - the akuma had to be hiding in there. Her face settled into a mask of determination as she flung her yo-yo in support of her partner.

The unbreakable thread wove around the blade of the sword and she pulled, wrenching it from his grasp. Chat grinned and yelled over his shoulder, “Thanks, my lady. I'll keep him busy while you break out the akuma.” Sending actions after words, he went on the attack and the swordsman fell back on his heels, evading Chat's wild swings.

Marinette reached for the sword after her yo-yo unwrapped it at her feet. She caught a glimpse of the disarmed swordsman reaching for his scabbard. The sword disappeared from in front of her, only to reappear in the scabbard, where the swordsman drew it and pushed back against Chat's attack, sword raised high and raining blows upon him.

“Now that's just cheating!” Her frown deepened. _It'll be tricky to grab the sword long enough to break it_ , she thought to herself. She let loose a barrage of yo-yo strikes, but each was deflected or dodged by the enemy while he dueled. Her only solace was that he seemed to be getting tired, and that she was making him ease up on Chat.

Just after thinking that, he abruptly changed direction and barreled past Chat, who had been about to take advantage of the distraction. As they moved past each other, the swordsman elbowed the feline hero in the back, causing him to stumble to the ground. Chat turned over and looked up, only to see a white blade point hovering inches from his throat. He gulped loudly. No one moved.

Marinette was the first to break through the tension. She tangled the legs of the swordsman with her yo-yo and a moment after, Chat extended his staff into the swordsman's chest. He toppled over, but turned it into a roll, loosening the string in the process. He made a dash for Marinette, sword gripped in two fists, raised high as Chat Noir called out her name.

A scream pierced the air. Everyone stopped abruptly, the swordsman skidding to a halt. A couple blocks away, more and more voices added to the first. The swordsman glanced at Marinette, then lowered his weapon and ran at full speed towards the noise. 

Marinette shared a look with Chat Noir before voicing what she knew was in both their thoughts. “I feel like we understand less than when we started this fight. Come on.” Her partner nodded, lips pursed, and they bounded forward towards the noise.

\------------------------------------------------------------- 

Adrien and his partner sailed over the swordsman and turned the corner. The sight that greeted them was the one of the most inhuman akuma to date.

A giant mass of slime and tendrils lashed out at the buildings near it - buildings which it was just barely shorter than. A single yellow eye, bloodshot and wide open, darted around. Beams of energy focused out of its hate-filled eye to blast targets out of its reach as it slowly inched forward. Occasionally it would drag a heap of scrap into itself and grow even larger.

Ladybug landed first, yo-yo already darting forward before she made contact with the ground. She pulled an errant citizen away from the flailing tendrils of the supervillain, Adrien reaching her just as the yo-yo returned to her palm. His eyes glanced over the entire body of the gooey beast and he knew Ladybug was doing the same. “This is a sticky situation, Bugaboo. Have you spotted where the akuma is hiding?”

Ladybug shook her head. “I don't even see where it could be hidden.” The villain was partially transparent, and they saw that it was hiding nothing inside of it. The tentacles seemed to hold nothing, except what it thrashed and mauled.

He shrugged and a car went sailing over them. Ladybug flashed him a grin. “Lets convince it to stop destroying Paris while we figure this out.” With that, they began circling the monster. Ladybug would hit it with yo-yo strikes, drawing its attention. Then Adrien would slam his staff into it, making it turn to face him. It went on like this, the creature growing constantly angrier. The plan was that anger would make it sloppy. _Not that it need help being sloppy_ , Adrien thought with a smile. 

Then it happened.

It was a simple mistake, really. More bad luck than anything, which was unusual for his lady. Ladybug had landed on a spot slicked by slime that had flown off it during its erratic movements. She stumbled – just for a moment – and then she was wrapped in a tendril as thick and strong as steel cables. Adrien's eyes opened wide, and he felt Ladybug’s name escape his mouth as his lady was slammed into the ground. He tried to run toward her, only to fall forward. His foot was wrapped in another tendril, and was slowly wrapping the rest of him.

It was about to raise the tendril to slam her down again when the swordsman appeared, slashing the tendril off completely. He raised his sword once again, cutting through the tendrils still binding her.

  ------------------------------------------------------------- 

Marinette opened her eyes to see the man they had stopped fighting mere minutes ago offering his hand to pull her up. Confused and still dazed from being thrown against the ground, she took it and rose to her feet. He roughly patted her back – jarring her back to the moment at hand – and turned to the creature, watching Chat Noir about to suffer the same fate she did.

_Its pretty early to do this_ , Marinette thought to herself ruefully, but I don't see any other way. This was shaping up to be another long fight. She called on the power of creation. “Lucky charm!”

“A crowbar? What am I supposed to do with this?” In the meantime, Chat had almost hit the ground, but was freed when the crystal blade of the swordsman slashed through the tendril. Standing next to each other and fighting off more of them, they were being pushed back towards Marinette.

They almost reached her when the eye of the monster turned their way, and a beam of harsh red light was destined to blast into the three of them. Her eyes widened. They wouldn’t be able to dodge in time, so their only hope was to trust in their armor.

The swordsman raised his blade to block it, and the energy impacted against it harmlessly. Errant beams deflected off the blade seared furrows into the ground.

“I'd sword-a rather not meet the ground again, my lady, and we won't be able to keep it back furrrever. Got one of your patented Ladybug plans in motion yet?” 

She sighed loudly. Only Chat would go back to joking so soon after a brush with major injury.

He glanced at the object she had conjured. “I've _bar_ ly started. Tired of my puns so soon?”

She was about to respond when she noticed the swordsman waving at her, as if to get her attention. She watched him lift his visor, showing ice blue eyes set against pale skin. He pointed at one of his eyes, which he held wide open, and gestured frantically at the huge monster. He slammed his visor shut and ducked out of the way of a tendril aiming to grab him by the neck.

The eye? She took a closer look. While it was reflecting oddly... Her eyes opened wide with understanding. It was wearing a giant contact lens! “Chat Noir! Can you pin it in place? I need to get at its eye.”

Chat looked at the ground where the person-turned-monster was standing. In a sing-song voice he shouted, “Will do, bugaboo! Cataclysm!”

Chat's hand glowing with destructive potential, he ran alongside the monster with his fingers tracing the ground. Surprisingly, the swordsman was on his heels. The crystal blade flashed against the tendrils trying to catch the black-clad hero of Paris. Completing the circle, the ground collapsed from underneath the monster. Both Chat and the swordsman leaped out of the way as it fell into the earth, its jelly body briefly losing shape in the fall.

Marinette ran forward and slid the crowbar underneath the almost-invisible contact lens. She pried it free with a _**shlooop**_ sound and punched through it. A purple butterfly flew out.

After purifying the akuma and restoring everything to how it was, they celebrated with their usual fist bump. It was about that time Marinette remembered the swordsman, who was wiping his sword off on a cloth and approaching them. Marinette fell into a defensive stance, Chat ready with his staff next to her. They watched him approach, wary of any betrayal.

The swordsman sheathed his sword, his hands far from his sides, palms facing the heroes. He stopped once he was a few feet away from them. 

In a strange accent, he spoke. “We will meet again soon.” There was a sensation of wind, a sound like a peal of sped up thunder, and he was gone.

They stood there for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Their miraculous beeped simultaneously. Marinette listened carefully, expecting to be on her last dot. She was astonished to hear that it was the first warning. She stole a look at Chat Noir. Shock was plastered on his face as he looked at his ring. 

“So, chaton.” He looked up at her. “Patrol tonight?”

\-------------------------------------------------------------  

Of course, it was very rare to have multiple akumas in one day. The patrol was probably unnecessary. But Adrien understood that the real reason for the meeting was to figure out what the hell all that was about.

He sat on the Eiffel Tower, his legs dangling from the edge of his spot, waiting on Ladybug to arrive. He liked to get there early. The view was always splendid, the air refreshing... and it made sure he always got the most amount of time with his lady.

“Whats on your mind, bugaboo?” He spoke without turning, his enhanced senses having alerted him to Ladybug's arrival.

She sat down next to him. Not as close as he would've liked, but close enough to feel her warmth. Her eyes were watching him intently as she spoke. “What do you think all that was about today?”

Without prompting, he knew what she was talking about. The akuma was business as usual, excluding the monstrous appearance. Even _that_ was becoming more common than the more human villains they had started off fighting. But a (seemingly) completely human person going toe to toe with them one minute and then fighting alongside them the next? That was new.

“Honestly? I thought that he was another victim of Hawkmoth. But that can't be right.” Ladybug said nothing as she continued to watch him, a clear invitation to explain. “So he was looking for us specifically. Most akumatized people do that sooner or later. But most victims don't actively avoid causing _cat_ -lateral damage. Aside from some barricades, he didn’t hurt anyone.” He grinned inwardly, maintaining his serious expression as Ladybug groaned at the pun. “So he finds us – well, we find him. But he wasn't fighting to win.”

Ladybug scoffed. “I was there, remember?” She flicked his bell. “He seemed to be doing his best to give us a beat down. I saw him lashing at you with that sword...” She trailed off, looking to the side as if trying to remember something.

“Bugaboo?”

“That sword... the symbols on the side were familiar, but I still don't know where I'd seen them before.” She paused again, trying to catch the fleeting connection, but it was in vain.

The moments dragged on and Adrien took the opportunity to continue. “Well, that’s the thing. I think he was holding back. I've been dueling for a few years now, and I could tell there were moments he wouldn't press an advantage or exploit an opportunity. He didn't want a quick end to the fight. He wanted it to go on.”

He turned to see Ladybug absorbing his words. Then she spoke, slowly, “Hawkmoth wants us out of the way, and he wants our miraculous. That guy had his sword at your...” She paused at the memory. It must’ve been a heart-stopping moment, seeing her partner so exposed. He felt a rush of warmth at the concern Ladybug had for him. “...throat and did nothing. He didn't even try to get either of our miraculous.”

“He even made sure it was us before drawing his sword. It was as if he had our names, but didn't know what we looked like.” Adrien added. The moment of tension when the stranger actually spoke, before he had attacked anyone, replayed itself in his mind.

“He wanted to fight us – and only us – but didn't fight to win, didn't care about the miraculous, and left after helping deal with an akuma.” She let out a sigh, her eyes closed with her chin on her hand. Then her eyes flew open and she grabbed Adrien by the shoulder. Her vibrant blue eyes fixed onto his. “If he doesn't know about us, only our names, how did he know how to beat an akumatized victim?”

They both considered this. It was the stranger who had discovered the contact lens. It had been so well hidden that even when they were looking for it, it was difficult to spot. Adrien voiced the end of his train of thought, “So he must have known enough to actively look for it...”

“...or he knew where it was all along. As if someone told him?” Ladybug ventured.

The wind gently blew past them as this sunk in. _Could the stranger be trying to earn their trust for a long term betrayal?_ Adrien shook his head. “No, I don't believe that. Hawkmoth is an opportunist.” _Maybe it comes with the miraculous? His powers focus on taking advantage of things as they happen. You can't really plan for bursts of intense emotion._ “He doesn't do long term akumas. Besides, why would he pass up perfectly good chances in the meantime?”

Head on her hand, deep in thought, Ladybug responds, “I can't argue with that. His powers might be getting stronger, but his strategies certainly haven't changed.” She scowls and throws her hands in the air. “Ugh! None of this makes much sense. But he said we'll be meeting him again. We'll just have to be ready for that.” 

With nothing else to say, they started their patrol, chasing each other over the rooftops of Paris.

\-------------------------------------------------------------  

On the ground, some distance away, a pair of pale blue eyes watched them leap from the Eiffel Tower.


	3. Interrogation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to this 7,000~ words long chapter! There was a lot to cover here and things to set up for the next few entries, but I intend for my chapters to be closer to this one in length than the last two. 
> 
> Just for the record, I imagine his 'strange accent' as something similar to a Scottish one.

Marinette was feeling better after talking things through with Chat. While they aren't any closer to finding out who the stranger is, the situation didn't seem as frightening as it had before. She sighed as she set her backpack down on the chaise in her room, pulling out her homework as she did so.

Tikki flew out of her purse and landed on her shoulder. With so many possible things to talk about, Tikki waited for her charge to initiate conversion. In the meantime, her presence was comfort all its own for the frazzled teenager. 

She had just gotten home from school, a familiar routine that gave her solid ground in this rough patch: Wake up, get ready, talk to Alya, take a seat. Clash with Chloe – gotta make sure she doesn't help out Hawkmoth everyday. Perform basic pleasantries with Adrien, take notes, eat out with her three main friends. Her heart fluttered for a moment as she realized she could count Adrien among her friends now. She cheered herself on. _One step closer!_ Take more notes, go home. 

Sitting down at her desk, Marinette began staring at her homework. Her mind was too preoccupied with the Ladybug side of things that she couldn't focus on the assigned worksheet. Tikki landed in front of her, meeting her eyes. The young heroine of Paris let out a sigh. “Chemistry can wait. I won't be able to work on this until I've settled down a bit.”

“Maybe a walk in the park will help you organize your thoughts? It certainly wouldn't hurt to get some fresh air.” Tikki offered. 

She considered it. There was plenty of sunlight left, and the park was beautiful during late autumn. Why not?

 

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A short bus ride later and she found herself wandering through the park with her sketchpad. The park was popular this time of year, and she passed by a few of her classmates. 

She spent some time sketching in amiable silence with the other class artist, Nathaniel. He had been working on a larger piece, and was taking a break by doodling in the sunlight. Marinette made sure that he promised to keep her updated with his progress before she moved on. 

In her search to find a secluded spot, she stumbled across Juleka and Rose. She thought about calling out to them, but decided that might be intrusive and turned around. 

Max, Kim, and Markov were heading to a soccer game Kim was taking part in. She joined them and made some sketches while cheering with Max and Markov. It wasn't too interesting to her, however, and too distracting for drawing. Halfway through the match, she excused herself and spent the rest of her trip on her own. 

A couple of hours passed and she found herself out of the park and with several pages filled with sketches. Most were scenes she had watched, some sly sketches of random park goers, others particularly beautiful plant life. Some was design sketches for warmer clothing for her and her partner. Which got her sketching Chat Noir more. Who knew it was so fun to draw his distinctive outfit?

She hummed absently to herself as she roamed the streets of Paris. Tikki poked her head out of the purse she was hiding in to take a look at their surroundings. “Marinette!” She whispered to her charge. “Master Fu lives nearby. Maybe he knows something about the man? I know his parting words have been bothering you.”

Was that why she was feeling so out of it? “I suppose you're right, Tikki, but I don't see why he'd know anything.” 

Trying a different angle of approach, Tikki responded. “Maybe he figured out why the ritual didn't work?” With another potential enemy floating around, Marinette would like to have that power boost sooner rather than later. 

Marinette came to a decision quickly. With a firm nod of her head she changed course. “We're almost there anyway. We might as well ask.”

She ducked into an alley and made a few quick turns before reaching the storefront – a store which boasted “ancient Chinese secrets” and “world-famous chi massages.” She was glad she had her sketchbook with her, since she ended up having to wait for about half an hour due to a customer's session being already in progress. Eventually that customer left, and Master Fu stood before her, holding open the door while waving her in.

Nodding his head in a shallow bow, he moved past her to pour some tea. Two incredibly small cups and two normal sized cups were arranged on a low table and filled. He took a seat at the table, on the red cushion there. He started the conversation. “My apologies for making you wait, but I cannot act too suspiciously while either of you are here on non-urgent business. The facade I have established can withstand some... eccentricities... but not in great quantities." His face became a mask of gentle concern. "What is troubling you?”

 _Am I wearing her worries that openly? Or was Master Fu simply very perceptive?_ Filing those questions to the back of her mind, she answered as she took a seat opposite him. “Do you know anything about that person who we fought yesterday?” As she asked, Tikki flew out from her purse as Wayzz emerged from... somewhere. She didn't catch where he was hiding. They landed next to the tiny cups that had been poured for them.

He stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Possibly, but I can't be sure. Tell me about the fight the two of you had with him. We will address his capability for hunting akuma afterwards.”

Marinette took and breath and gave what she thought was a fair account of the event – their arrival, his confirmation of their identity, his assault and the clashing between weapons. It was as she was describing the rapid exchanges between Chat and him that Master Fu held up a hand to stop her.

“You say that the sword was leaving physical marks on the staff of Chat Noir? You are sure of this?”

Marinette nodded. “I didn't even think that our weapons could be damaged.” She had see them lose their power before, but barring that, they hadn't suffered damage. Which made her a bit less confident in her armor.

“They shouldn't be able to. The number of substances that can damage the main components of the miraculous can be counted on one hand. The most obvious are other miraculous. The others are rare to the point of non-existence or lost to time.”

Marinette's eyes widened. “Do you think that we are dealing with another miraculous bearer?” She wasn't sure what she thought about that. Hawkmoth was bad enough, but at least this one seemed to be willing to fight alongside them. 

Master Fu stroked his beard once again. “It is possible – there are still miraculous that are lost or unaccounted for, including one of the seven. But I feel this is not the case.” 

Marinette's ears perked up at that. Having the stranger be a miraculous bearer was something she understood and could plan for. But an unknown person being able to harm at least their weapons and probably even their armor was... unsettling. 

He got up and walked over to his electronic notepad. Returning to his seat, he began flipping through the virtual pages of the copied book of miraculous lore. While doing so, he spoke. “I have not made progress in deciphering the remainder of the ritual we performed, but I have compared it to the other pages in the text. Specifically, the alchemical recipes that unlocked the specialized forms of your miraculous. It was difficult to notice at first, but the language is subtly different. The potions claim to awaken power from within, whereas the ritual promised to sharpen their powers.” 

He stopped and sipped tea while Marinette absorbed the information. So the ritual was meant to hone their abilities rather than be a power boost. Her shoulders sagged. _I guess it was too much to hope for a quick fix to our problem._ Then her eyes widened as the implications caught up to her. “Do you think that we... summoned this person?”

Master Fu slowly nodded. “That is a very real possibility. The fact that he appeared no more than a day after we performed the ritual and tracked you two down specifically is too great a coincidence to be ignored.”

Great. So they were responsible for adding to their own troubles. Then again, that fight with the akuma immediately afterwards would have been time consuming without help. There was also the relief that this wasn't part of a slow burning plot by Hawkmoth. Which reminded her... “Did you want me to describe the battle with the akuma?” 

At his nod, she began. The form of the villain, their brief struggle before the stranger's arrival, his discovery of the akuma's hiding spot, his defense of Chat, and the delayed beeping of their miraculous. 

The elderly guardian had been following her story intently, but was surprised with the ending. “That is... very strange. That would suggest they were receiving outside power, sustaining the transformation.” He furrowed his brows and looked deep in thought. “I feel that deciphering the remainder of that ritual has become of paramount importance. Is there anything else you wanted to ask, Ladybug?”

God, it was weird to be called that while she wasn't wearing the spots. She shook her head and got up to leave. Tikki returned to float by her head. 

"Good bye, Ladybug, and be careful. We do not know what motivates this stranger."

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She still had homework waiting for her, but she found it much easier to focus on after her walk. She got it done in record time, but the sun had long since set. Leaning back in her desk chair, her mind wandered over the day's events. 

Her conversation with Master Fu hadn't exactly set her at ease, but she was at least glad that it wasn't Hawkmoth up to any new tricks. He may be getting stronger, but she and Chat Noir were improving as well! As her thoughts drifted to Chat, she was reminded of Tikki and the sustained transformation. 

“Tikki?”

Her kwami stopped midway to lifting a whole cookie to her mouth. She gingerly placed it on the desk and glided over to her charge. “Yes, Marinette?” Tikki watched her with big, round eyes. 

Marinette paused. “Did you feel the flow of energy Master Fu mentioned?”

Her kwami crossed her arms and legs over her, eyes crossed for a moment. She looked deep in thought as she responded. “Yes. It was very strange." She opened her eyes and began flitting around Marinette. "Normally, I draw my power from a pool within me – cookies help fill this pool, but there is a steady stream that will fill it over time. In that moment, the stream's flow became much stronger, and I could keep up the transformation with no problem. If given time, we might have even been able to call on the Lucky Charm again.”

Marinette mulled over this information. Most of it was nothing she hadn't figured out on her own, although Tikki put it into more definite terms. “Has this ever happened before?”

“Sometimes. Usually, when there is a lot of magic in an area. It probably wasn't a conscious decision, for what it's worth.” Tikki waited for a response, but Marinette was tapping her finger on the desk, plainly unsatisfied with the answer. Tikki returned to her cookie and was beginning to nibble at it while Marinette watched.

She bite her lower lip and wondered if it would be too much to ask if Tikki knew anything about the ritual. If it was in the guardian book, then that must have meant it had been used by miraculous users in the past, right? Maybe other Ladybugs had dealt with it before, and Tikki would have been there for those times...

Tikki looked at her with eyes filled with sympathy, likely having figured out her charge's next question. “I'm sorry, Marinette. I can't answer questions about past Ladybugs.” The kwami became more vibrant and her voice took on a more hopeful tone. “But I can say that you shouldn't worry about it. This will all work out in the end, trust me!” Her charged sighed, disappointed with the answer, but not surprised by it. Still, she trusted Tikki had her best interests at heart, and felt worry slip away.

Marinette yawned and took that as her cue to get ready for bed. She was able to sleep early for once and she fully intended to take advantage of that. Tomorrow, she would have patrol with Chat, but for now she could relax. 

 

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Perhaps she relaxed a bit too much. 

Her sleep was deep and dreamless. Unfortunately, while that left her well rested it also meant that her alarms (and Tikki) were of no help. It was only when her mother entered through the trap door was she coaxed out of bed and into her morning routine. Thankfully, she hadn't slept in too late and she arrived at school with time to spare. 

Striding over to her best friend, Alya opened the conversation with innocent talk of minor gossip on the superhero duo of Paris before seamlessly transitioning into more nefarious plots. 

“I've had Nino convince Adrien to go to the movies with him. If you are still free for tomorrow, then I can use my position to join Nino and you can tag along with me.” Alya outlined the first phase of her plan. With Alya now dating Nino, they had a man on the inside with Adrien. With his help, Alya was certain that they could win Adrien over for Marinette.

Marinette, however, was mixed with glee and dread. On the one hand, this would be the perfect starting point for a relationship with Adrien. Going to the movies was fairly tame and without having to evade hordes of fans and wear ridiculous disguises, they could finally hang out and get to know each other. Once they knew each other they could hang out more and more often, eventually leading to marriage and (three) children (Emma, Louis, and Hugo) and a hamster!

But on the other hand, she could let her natural clumsiness out. She'd spill something on Adrien's no-doubt expensive designer clothes – which were surely irreplaceable designs from his father's own studio. Then he would justifiably hate her, and he'd insist on never speaking to her again. She could kiss her love life and Emma, Louis, Hugo, and the unnamed hamster goodbye! 

Some of this was conveyed to Alya in rapid fire sentences and frantic waving arms thrown about her head. The details and flawless logic must have been lost in translation, if her friend's skeptic look told her anything. Instead, she simply cocked an eyebrow at her, one hand on her hip as she waited for Marinette to settle down.

“Are you done, girl?” Marinette took a breath and nodded. “Good, you'll need to cut down on the freak outs when we are at the restaurant tomorrow.” 

Marinette tensed. “Restaurant? As in food and public and not hidden in darkness?” If she could ruin Adrien's opinion of her with just movie theater food...

Alya laughed, “Yes, restaurants are generally like that. Don't worry, Nino and I will be right there. You won't be alone with Adrien.” She would've argued more, but the boy in question had just been dropped off by his bodyguard and was greeting Nino. Who was now leading him towards her and Alya. 

She fought down the rising tide of panic. She had worked hard and wasn't about to stutter or mess up in front of him. 

Her summoned courage faltered briefly as her eyes met his summer green ones. She shoved down the fluttering in her stomach and put on a polite smile, just in time for the two boys to reach them. 

Nino put an arm around Alya once he got there and said in an off handed way, “So, you ready for tomorrow, Adrien? Got permission from your daddy-o?”

Adrien was bubbling with joy. “Yes, and he is letting me go without an escort. I'll finally get to hang out at the movies – without getting mobbed, hopefully.” He looked over to Marinette as he said this, smiling warmly. 

Marinette giggled. “M-Maybe we ought to wear disguises again, just to be on the safe side.” 

His eyes widened a fraction and he looked over to Nino before looking back at Marinette. “I had thought that it was just going to be me and Nino. Are you going too?”

Panic shot through Marinette. _The plan! The wonderful plan! I've destroyed it, and the future happy family has been destroyed with it! Now Adrien would think she was a stalker attaching herself to his every outing._

Before she could spiral further out of control, Nino, that angel, saved them. With a palm to his forehead as if he had forgotten something obvious, he replied “Right, I forgot to mention. I was texting Alya earlier and she said that they were going to the movies tomorrow too. We figured we'd all go together. Sorry, bro. I hope you don't mind.”

Adrien flashed his glowing smile again. “Oh no, of course not. I'd love to go out with Marinette.” Long pause. Eyes widening. “And everyone else!” He hastily added, a light blush on his face. 

The pause stretched as Marinette coughed to hide her own blush. Alya spoke next. “What time was the movie? I'm going to be heading out at four.” 

“You'll have time to spare then. The movie won't start until six.” Nino supplied easily, almost as if scripted. 

“Oh no! How are we going to spend two hours?” Alya wore an exaggerated look of fear. 

“Well, we could-” Adrien tried to interject, but the play before him had yet to run its course.

With theatrical timing, Nino declared with the gravitas of a hero returning victorious. “Wait! I heard of this nice sushi place. We could eat there while we waited for the movie.” 

“Um... alright.” Adrien replied meekly. He cleared his throat as he continued. “I will pay for everyone's food, of course. Sushi is not cheap – not if you want good sushi at least.”

Marinette objected immediately. “I'm flattered, but we can't ask you to do that.” If there was one thing that could overcome her shyness with Adrien, it was her altruism. 

Now he was actually grinning rather than giving his small polite smiles. “Thankfully, you don't have to ask. It is no trouble, don't worry. I don't know what to spend my modeling money on most of the time anyway, so it may as well be on my friends.”

Marinette would have continued the fight, but she couldn't withstand the warmth of that grin – nor the ringing of the bell that shrilly demanded they get to class. 

 

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It was in this mood, well-rested and joyful at her almost-a-date-but-not-really tomorrow, that she started heading out to the Eiffel Tower. There, she would meet with Chat Noir and start their Friday rounds.

Usually, Chat would meet her there and take the lead on patrol. Ladybug may be the hero of Paris in the daytime, but Chat held that title for the night. The darkness held no secrets from him, and while both of them had better senses as their alter egos, Chat Noir's were far sharper. 

This time, however, she heard a familiar voice call out to her a few blocks before she reached the Eiffel Tower. Glancing down, she was surprised to see her partner waving her down. She lands next to him. “Something wrong with the normal spot, kitty?”

He grins halfheartedly. “Only the fact that it is occupied, my lady. Thankfully, my animal instincts gave me warning before I ran head first into him.”

Blue eyes fly open. “The same guy from before?” _I guess 'soon' was a lot sooner than I was anticipating._

“Only so many people in Paris wear metal armor.” Chat Noir leaned against a chimney, twirling his tail. “What should we do? Ignore him or fight him?” 

She considers the options. “You're sure you weren't spotted?” Chat nods. Her face set into a mirthless smile. “Then we have the drop on him. Follow my lead.” 

 

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The stranger was leaning against a tall metal strut, reading a book with a small stack of more books nearby. He was at ease, and completely engrossed with whatever he was reading.

Marinette liked to think that under his helmet he wore a shocked expression as her yo-yo wrapped around him. It pinned his arms to his side, causing him to drop his book between his legs. It also affixed him firmly to the metal strut that he leaned against. He struggled briefly before Chat's staff bumped into his chest and moved up to tilt the stranger's head up towards them. They jumped down to stand in front of him.

He stared at them, face unreadable under his helmet. A voice rang out from within, odd accent still tinting the words. “Caution... and audacity. Noble qualities for heroes. I can see why you were chosen.” A gentle laugh. “You certainly have my attention, kiddos.” He had ceased struggling and instead almost seemed to relax. 

Marinette was... well, not shocked exactly, but certainly confused. He had barely spoken before, and had launched immediately into the offensive last time, but now he talked fluently as if they were friends. She pushed those thoughts aside and took the initiative. “Who are you? Why were you after us? Why did you help us?”

He held up his hands as if shielding himself from her questions. “Woah, woah. Easy there. We'll all get our questions, but I have some of my own. Shall we go in a circle?” 

Chat scoffed at this. “I'd say we're _bound_ to get answers out of you anyway. We can be here all _knight_.” 

She almost giggled, but stopped herself just in time. _Damn, his puns are growing on me._

Instead, she said, “My partner is right. You aren't bargaining from power here. Why should we answer your questions?”

The stranger began moving again. He reached for the sheath of his sword. Chat Noir leaped into action and pressed the staff against him once again. The stranger looked up. “Please. A show of good faith.” 

Chat, though clearly suspicious seemed to have been moved by the earnestness in the stranger's voice. Chat shrunk his staff back into a baton. The stranger gripped the sheath and with a sudden jerk tossed it off his belt, sending it clattering at the feet of the Parisian superheroes. 

“That” he said, pointing at the discarded sword, “is the only thing I had on me capable of freeing myself from Ladybug's yo-yo. I lack superhuman strength and agility, so I am now truly trapped. Are you willing to sit down and talk this out now?” 

Marinette looked at the sheath, remembering the brilliant sword that resides within it. She wasn't surprised at the implication that it could cut through the thread of her yo-yo. What surprised her more was when her eyes passed over the stack of books the stranger had been reading. 

Discarded and forgotten since their ambush, they were scattered in a small pile next to him, but they were still very clearly French dictionaries. 

“You may have noticed I am more talkative now.” The stranger spoke quietly as he broke the silence that followed his question. He must have noticed where her eyes lingered. “This is because I can speak your language now. The Blessing of the Flame Tongue is a wondrous thing, but learning a language one word at a time is slow going. Hence the books of words.”

Which, honestly, raised more questions than it answered, but Marinette was at least certain he was correct when he said he was trapped. She resolved not to lower her guard completely, but she allowed herself to relax. She sat down opposite the stranger. Chat Noir moved to sit next to her. Despite his outer ease, his tail flicked from side to side. 

Before he could take his seat, the stranger held up a hand. “Hold, lad. Before you get comfortable, could you remove my helm? I at least owe you the courtesy of meeting you eye to eye in this conversation.” 

Caught halfway to sitting, Chat huffed and traipsed over to the trapped man. His hands reached slowly for the helmet. He jumped when the swordsman suddenly laughed. “I don't bite, kiddo. The latches are under the metal on either side of my head. Move them and pull.” Scowling at himself, Chat Noir did as instructed, placing the helmet next to the stranger as they got their first sight of the him.

The chain hood still concealed his hair, but his face was exceptionally pale, with reddish stubble dotting his jaw, and the same ice blue eyes as before. 

He took a moment to tilt his head up and closed his eyes, feeling the wind on his face. Without opening them, he spoke. “We've all got questions here. We'll go around in a circle, and we'll answer honestly, aye? And be at ease – I won't be asking for identities or personal matters. That work for ye?”

Marinette knew she could probably get something better out of him, but the curiosity was getting unbearable. She was about to open with her first question, but Chat Noir spoke up first.

“Why should we trust you?”

The man gave a small smile, as if proud at the question. He looked off into the distance before answering. “You shouldn't. Not yet, at least. Trust ought to be earned, and I understand why you are hesitant. But even if you don't trust me, you can trust my word. If you truly doubt my honesty,” he turned back to meet their eyes, “you can always ask Plagg and Tikki. I'm sure they would vouch for me.”

Her thoughts screeched to a halt. Beside her, Chat's tail and ears stood straight up. Even if he knew about the miraculous, the kwami weren't common knowledge, least of all their names. So far, the only people she knew of who knew about the kwami were all miraculous bearers. 

The silence lay heavily on them. His next words were hesitant and directly mainly towards Chat. “Cat... got your tongue?” 

_Oh God he was trying to win over Chat with puns._

Her partner grinned.

_Oh God he was successfully winning over Chat with puns._

Before either of them could say anything else, Marinette steamrolled over them by asking the first official question. “What,” she paused for effect, pointing dramatically toward the bound stranger, “is your name?” She crossed her arms and sat up straight as she watched him for his answer.

He blinked. A half smile flitted on his features. He murmured “You really don't know?” Shaking his head, he responded in his full voice, “I have had many names during my time here. Normally I'd pick a name to blend in with the culture, but I think that ship sailed. Call me Truesight.”

Marinette pressed onward. “I haven't heard that name before. Who are you, Truesight?”

The strang– Truesight, Marinette mentally adjusted, had a pained look cross his face before it passed as quickly as it arrived. Instead, he cocked an eyebrow at her. “That's two questions, but I'll let it slide since I'm generous. My purpose is tied to the miraculous and I do what is needed to be done when I am called. I don’t know yet what I’ve been called to do, but I have my assumptions.”

Chat had been ever so patiently waiting for his turn by rapidly tapping the side of his foot against the metal of the Eiffel Tower, tail continuing to flick back and forth. He was leaning back, arms behind him as support. Once Truesight was done explaining, Chat leaned forward. “My turn?” He asked energetically. 

Marinette rolled her eyes, a smile playing at her lips at her partner's excitement. She nodded while formulating her next question. 

“Why didn't you go after Ladybug when we fought? I'm glad you didn't, but she is the greater threat to you.” His words caught her off guard. She frowned – she didn't like it when Chat ranked himself below her. _They were partners!_ Another part of her responded, _But that didn't stop the reporters from labeling him her 'sidekick.'_

“I don't know about relative strength between you two, but I didn't want to accidentally hurt anyone and you had a staff. You could block my sword strikes and properly duel me. I wanted to gauge your fighting prowess, to see what I was working with – which meant I needed to drag out the battle.” 

_That proves Chat's theory about him holding back then._ Marinette filed that bit of info away. 

“Satisfied? Good. Now it is my turn.” Truesight leaned forward as much as his bonds allowed him to. “Why haven't the Guardians contacted me? I don't remember much, but I know how this is supposed to go. But two days and there has been nothing. Where are the Guardians?”

“As in, the guardians of the miraculous?” Chat clarified. Truesight gave a quick nod.

Marinette bit her lip. The first question was easy – Master Fu didn't contact him because he didn't know he had to. The second question she was less keen on answering. Then she remembered that he has been referring to the guardians. Plural. He didn't know that they were almost all gone. 

_Better rip that bandage off first_ , Marinette thought, steeling herself. “There is only one guardian left. The rest... are gone. We don't know the details.” 

Marinette was surprised. She didn't know he could get any paler, but here he was giving it his level best. His mouth gaped open and he seemed to look past them at nothing at all. He went limp and his head fell downward. Minutes passed before he responded. “So much has been lost.” He looked back up, sorrow plainly evident in his eyes. “You poor children. You fight alone.” He shook his head and looked away.

She was at a loss. It was very... disconcerting to hear so much pity in his voice, especially directed at them. She decided to press forward. “I doubt he knew he needed to contact you. Why would we have to anyway? What brought you here?” She was fairly certain why, but she wanted to be sure.

Truesight pulled himself together and put on an impassive face, but his words had an edge to them. “There is no doubt. You performed the ritual and summoned me. You two had to have been there, otherwise I would not have arrived here with your names seared in my mind.” 

She nodded. So he is the result of the ritual. Chat Noir whistled appreciatively. “So does this operate on leprechaun rules? We beat you so now we get that power up?”

Truesight pulled back, shocked. Then he leaned his head back and laughed. It was not a bitter or mocking laugh that she had expected, but a true, honest laughter that shook him. Tears streamed down his face, and she wasn't sure if it was the sadness from the shocking news or mirth at Chat's joke ( _was it a joke? It sounds like something he'd actually think_ ) that did it. 

“No... no, lad. I'm going to make you stronger, yes, but we are going to do so the old fashioned way. You aren't beating power out of me to add to you.” He snickered at the thought, sorrow seemingly washed away. 

He settled down. Looking upwards, he said “So. One Guardian. Where are they? We will need to speak, if only to get me updated on... well, everything.”

She doubted Master Fu would be pleased if she gave away his location to a potentially dangerous person without consulting him first. Instead, she said “I'll have to ask him if we can tell you that.”

Truesight was undeterred, however. “We don't need to meet at his home if that's what you are worried about. And you two can guide us to a secure location if it makes him feel better. But it is vitally important that I speak with him.”

She locked eyes with Chat, who shrugged. Chat responded, “We'll tell him, but I can't make promises.”

He nodded. “I understand. Your turn then, lass.” He leaned his head back and waited for her question.

The wind picked up as she tapped her finger to her chin. She shivered; the breeze was chilly, a sign of winter's eminent arrival. Ever since taking on the miraculous of the ladybug, her tolerance for the cold had dropped. She absently shifted closer to Chat for warmth as she phrased her question. “Why are you here?”

“Really? Did you just perform the ritual without knowing what it does?” His voice was teasing, and he cocked an eyebrow with a smirk on his face. That smile was wiped off once he took in their evasion looks. “By the gods, you did. Thats dangerous, kiddos! Magic ought to be treated with respectful caution. Its powers can be truly terrible to behold.” It was amazing how well he could pull off the disappointed parent tone while bound to the Eiffel Tower. 

Marinette pouted, irritated at being chided like this. “It was in the spellbook for the miraculous! We figured they wouldn't put something that would hurt us in it! Besides, Master – uh, the guardian had most of it translated.” 

A raised eyebrow was his only response. Marinette huffed at him and crossed her arms, leaning against Chat. Eventually, he continued. “The ritual is a call for help. It is an acknowledgment that the situation has gotten out of control and a greater breed of hero is needed to raise to the challenge.” He paused, plainly enjoying their rapt attention. “Into this situation, I am summoned. To refine the martial skills of heroes. To strengthen sinew and muscle. To turn minds into fortresses." 

“In short, I am the Mentor. I am here to train and teach you, as I have done many times before.” He stops and scowls, muttering to himself. “Not that I get to fully remember those times.” 

Perhaps it was the enhanced senses, or maybe he had wanted to be heard, but that whispered comment didn't escape her notice. She tilted her head at him. “You don't get to remember? Is something stopping you?”

His scowl shifted seamlessly into a predatory grin. “If you want to know the answer to that, you'll have to use a proper question, lass.” 

Marinette looked over at her partner, meeting him in the eyes. She gave a sheepish smile, silently pleading with him. He returned her smile with a wide one, accompanied by a thumbs up. Turning back to Truesight, he responded with his eyes closed and head held snootily high, “Consider the question asked properly.” 

Truesight looked off into the Parisian skyline while he answered. “I don't know who or what force does it, but I don't remember much of my previous times here – besides the first, of course. I remember events connected with powerful emotions – things like that get so deeply embedded that no force can remove them without harm.” 

He looked back at them. “As for why it is done, I suspect because that shortens the time between summonings.”

“All you have to go on is suspicions? So you _truly_ don't know much about your summoning ritual?” Chat Noir smiled at his own slight pun. Marinette pinched the bridge of her nose. He is going to get a lot of mileage out of Truesight's name. 

The swordsman scoffed. “I wrote the damned ritual, kiddo. The runes are from my people's magic. I made it because I knew that even with all the time I had spent trying to save it, this world was far from safe.” Then it clicked for her. The runes on his sword were familiar because they were the same kind of runes in the ritual circle. 

Chat Noir seemed to take this revelation in stride, instead going back to taunting Truesight. “Well, let's not lose _sight_ of the fact that the miraculous are around. The world is pretty well protected, I'd say. What makes you so special?”

Truesight huffed, pulling himself up straight as he prepared to respond. It was then that Marinette realized what Chat was doing. He was making their captive annoyed to get him to make mistakes. She was impressed at her partner's cunning while kicking herself for not thinking of it first. It was basically what they did when fighting villains with unknown akumas, after all. 

Her mind skidded to a halt at Truesight's next words, spat out angrily. “My story and the tale of the miraculous are often one and the same. I may have not been here for all the bearers, but I was there for the first few generations, and I have seen the greatest trials of this saga. I was there at the beginning – when the miraculous were forged.” He flinched as if he immediately regretted his words, and visibly forced himself to calm down.

Marinette practically leaped up. “There's no way! The miraculous have been around since the Ancient Egyptians, at least!”

Truesight tilted his head to the side. “Are those the people on the river in the desert? Big white pyramids topped with gold?” 

She scrunched her forehead before Chat spoke up. “The limestone has since eroded and the gold was stolen, but yes, that's them.” 

Truesight bobbed his head. “That's where they were created. The main seven, at least. The others were added over the years since.” The last sentence was said with a hint of distaste. _Does he not approve of the other miraculous?_ Marinette wondered. He cleared his throat. “Now. You seem to have gotten me to say more than I would have liked, so I will ask my question – as I am due – and we'll stop there.”

He said it with conviction, as if he wasn't bound and weaponless in front of them. Marinette knew she wasn't going to keep him here, though. She... well, she didn't quite 'trust' him exactly, but she at least accepted that he was on their side and, more importantly, wasn't a threat to the people of Paris. 

“Do you two know who each other are? Or do my old friends still insist on complete secrecy?” Truesight asked this casually, as if it didn't cause a jolt of tension to run through his conversation partners.

“No.” Chat spoke. “We do not know each others secret identities.” _Though I wish we did_. Marinette mentally added to Chat's statement, fully aware of his opinions on the matter.

“Why ask that?” Marinette was suspicious. He had said he wouldn't be asking about identities and this was coming dangerously close to that.

“Well, when I find out who you two are, I need to know if I need to keep the identities a secret, even among us three.” 

Marinette glared at him. “You seem awfully confident you will be able to figure it out.” 

His eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “Well, yeah. Your masks aren't terribly concealing and I wove the memory charm, so it doesn't impact me. It is just a matter of seeing your civilian forms, really.”

She blinked. Memory charm? She thought to herself, slowly. She repeated the question out loud.

Instead of an answer, he gave a grin and said “I'll tell you later. After speaking with the Guardian. Don't forget, alright? Sleeping in the streets is not something I want to do for a long time, but I can if I must.”

Now she didn't know what to feel. Irritation or compassion? She decided to live up to her spots. She asked quietly. “You are sleeping in the streets?”

A nod. “For the time being. One of many reasons I need to speak with the Guardian. I will keep an eye on this tower after dark. If you need to speak with me, stand on the edge here and I will head for the bottom.” Marinette nodded. 

Chat Noir looked over to Ladybug. “So... we're letting him go, then?” 

She had a good feeling about Truesight, but she didn't want to make decisions like this without taking her partner into account. “That's what I was thinking. Did you not want to?”

He shook his head. “I'm _feline purr_ ty good about this. Can't say I don't have any doubts, but...” He trailed off as he glanced at Truesight, who gave a small wave. 

Marinette pulled back her yo-yo, causing it to untie Truesight and return to her hand. Chat reached for the scabbard on the ground and the helmet by his side. These in hand he walked up to Truesight, who had shoved his books into a bag, stretching as he stood up. 

He took the offered items gladly. The scabbard returned to his belt and his helmet fastened onto his head. He then surprised them both by grabbing Chat. Marinette had her yo-yo in her hand by the time she realized he was hugging Chat. He had wrapped his arms around Chat's waist and physically lifted him off the ground. He spoke, sounding almost like he had tears in his eyes. “You seem like good kids, and I can already tell it will be grand working with you.” 

He gently placed Chat on the ground, who immediately gasped for air, eyes wide. He then approached Marinette. She held her hands up defensively. “Oh no no, that’s alright. No need for hugs.” He paused, putting his hands to his sides before taking a step forward and patting her head, chuckling. 

“Well, kids, it is time for us to part. You have heroics to perform, and I have business to attend to.” He made a move to grab onto the steel beams of the Eiffel Tower.

Again, Marinette's eyes widened. “Are you going to climb down?” He nodded in the affirmative.

Chat moved to stop him. “No no no, let's have you take an elevator down. Follow me.” They guided him to an elevator, which he entered cautiously. No words were spoken during the trip. At the bottom, he bid them farewell and disappeared into the night.

Marinette sighed. “I guess I'll talk to Master Fu about this tomorrow, if I get the chance. I don't want to leave him out on the streets.”

“Do you want to go on patrol?”

“I could use the fresh air, but let's keep it short. I'll need sleep if I'm going to be able to process all this.”

“As you wish, my lady.”


	4. Dinner and Movies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the gang goes out to eat sushi and watch movies. Marinette isn't a stuttering mess, and Adrien is a cinnamon roll.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluff! Glorious fluff! It was a lot of fun to write this chapter, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it just as much as I do.

“What do you think, Tikki?” 

She held up the design she had just finished working on. Aside from some the endless adjustments she'd make before settling down (such is life when chasing perfection), it was basically done. 

Her kwami swooped in and sat in front of the design, taking it all in. It was a black long-sleeved jacket to be made of a warm material. The zipper had a bell attached to it, and the hood had big, green cat's eyes sewn into it. Accents of green added highlights to the entire design. 

She had heard he liked the heroes of Paris, and she knew from first hand experience that he got excited about things concerning Chat Noir. So what better gift than a warm jacket in the style of his favorite hero?

Tikki's eyes widened as she zipped excitedly to her charge. “I love it, Marinette! And I'm sure Adrien will too. Have you decided how you are going to give it to him?”

She nodded. “I'll give it to him on one of the last days of school, right around Christmas time.” That way, she could play off giving such a labor-intensive gift as being part of the holiday spirit. There was still a little over a month before it had to be done. Even with most of her free time sucked up by her school work, class president, and Ladybug, that should be plenty of time. 

Not for the first time, she was thankful her crush was a model. His measurements were easy enough to find with a bit of searching in magazines, and well, she certainly didn't lack for those. 

As she thought this, her eyes absently looked around her room, taking in the Adrien posters on her walls. While she hadn't replaced all the posters she took down, there was still more than would be expected of friends. The draw-on hearts also blew that defense out of the water. 

That’s when she saw the time – three thirty in the afternoon. Eyes widening, she remembered that she had to meet up with Alya at her house in fifteen minutes. And the reservation at the restaurant was at four. Where they would be meeting with Adrien (and Nino)!

Tikki giggled. “And that look on your face is exactly why I insisted you get ready hours ago. We can head out right now.” The anxiety melted away from Marinette once that sunk in. A hidden benefit to being Ladybug was having Tikki around. Among other things, she has never forgotten her purse since becoming Ladybug, due in no small part to Tikki living in there. 

Her face was set in determination as she resolved to get closer to Adrien today. 

 

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Adrien had left his mansion half an hour earlier than necessary to meet up with Nino. He was now going through back alleys on his way to Master Fu's shop. During patrol the previous night, he had insisted upon bringing the news to Master Fu himself. His lady was confused with his stubbornness on this, but acceded to it. 

Plagg interrupted his reflections on the previous night. With a complaint, of course. “Why do we need to leave so early? I could still be eating camembert in my bed right now.” 

Adrien had a flashback to him building a tiny nest of soft fabric and placing it on his highest shelf, far away from casual observation. He shook his head at his kwami. “I'm not going to get another good opportunity to meet with Master Fu any time soon. And the sooner I talk with him, the sooner Truesight is off the streets. Probably.”

He didn't fail to notice how Plagg tensed up a bit at the mention of the swordsman. “Really? Is Truesight your only motive here? If that were the case, Ladybug could've gotten there after patrol yesterday.”

He was hoping Plagg had forgotten about that. “Well, I'd like to interact with Master Fu more. Just... I'd like to get to know the only other person who knows I'm Chat.” 

The black cat kwami stared at him.

“What? That's all, Plagg.”

The staring continued and somehow intensified.

Adrien broke. “Okay, fine. I want to know why I was chosen.” Adrien enjoyed being Chat Noir, of course. But when comparing himself to Ladybug, he often felt that she deserved a better partner. He always tried to be the best for her, but the battles were only getting harder and she needed the very best possible. He didn't know if he was up to the task.

He looked back at Plagg to see a sad smile on his face. “Don't worry about it, kid. You make a great Chat Noir. I should know. I've been at this for a long time.”

Adrien blushed slightly at the compliment. It wasn't often that Plagg showed his softer side. He was glad that he had Plagg; there weren’t many people in his life that he could talk to so earnestly. He might be a bit of a jerk, but he certainly cared. 

He was about to thank Plagg when he turned the corner to see Master Fu's shop. The streets were busy here, so Plagg had to take cover as they entered the store. He had arrived, thankfully, when there was no one else there. After a traditional greeting and Adrien bowing to the shifu, Master Fu poured some tea. 

Plagg emerged from his hiding spot as Master Fu began speaking, “I assume your visit is not a mere social call. Chat Noir, does this have anything to do with the stranger with the sword?”

Adrien had to recover, since being called by his alter ego's name caused a brief moment of panic. He nodded.

“Go ahead then.”

“The man's name is Truesight. He says that he was summoned by our ritual, and he has trained heroes in the past. He assumed that was why we called him. He knows the names of our kwami, and he knew of the guardians, but he didn't know that you were the only one left.” Master Fu's eyes widen and his face turns to the side, but he strokes his beard instead of responding, so Adrien decides to get to the heart of the visit.

“He wants to meet with you.”

Master Fu stops mid motion, and looks back to Adrien. A calculating expression graces his features. “Truly? If my suspicions are true, then we will need his assistance. Tell him to travel here Monday afternoon. Once you and Ladybug are able, meet us here as well. We have much to discuss.” His eyes became... distant. Sad, almost. 

Adrien gave a bow. “I'll do what I can, Master Fu.” He turned to leave.

“Chat Noir?” Adrien stopped and looked back. “The enemy grows stronger, but I did not choose you lightly. I have full faith in your ability to overcome Hawk Moth, no matter his ploys.” 

Adrien nodded, a bit more at ease than he was previously. His eyes glanced at a clock on the wall. It was getting close to time to meet with Nino and he'd have to hurry if he wanted to be punctual. They exchanged goodbyes and Adrien headed to his friend's house.

 

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Marinette managed to arrive with a whole five minutes to spare, a personal best. She exchanged pleasantries with Alya's mother before reaching her room. Her best friend was just then finishing updating the Ladyblog with speculation concerning both Rena Rouge and the stranger. She waved her in frantically, but her eyes barely shifted off the screen in front of her. Pouring over hand-written notes, she rapidly transcribed them to the post. 

It never ceased to make Marinette smile. Alya had to post content about Rena Rouge despite being her. Despite her continuing search for Ladybug's citizen identity, Alya was very diligent concerning her own. She had taken to placing false leads in with actual facts on her blog, which was even funnier considering Marinette did a bit of the same in interviews. Alya was able to use her position as a respected authority (well, as respected as amateurs get anyway – she did have more private interviews with Ladybug than any other journalist) to divert attention from her. 

Alya – along with everyone else – was still in the dark with the stranger, however. The news had taken to calling him Bright Blade – probably a call back to the similar villain, Dark Blade. There was division between whether he was a new hero, or a villain like his namesake. Fighting with, and then fighting alongside, the beloved heroes of Paris had that effect on people. 

She couldn't blame them. She and Chat had spoken with the man – and looked him in the face – for over an hour and still didn't know much about him. Still, she was fairly certain he leaned more toward the heroic side.

Thoughts about swordsmen were pushed out of her mind as Alya finished with her post. Immediately afterwards, Marinette heard the ping of the notification telling her the same thing. There wasn't an akuma alert app (yet), but Alya's blog was second best to that. 

Alya turned to Marinette, a fire still behind her eyes from the quest for truth. “Are you ready to win over golden boy today?”

Marinette grinned, a fist held up in front of her. “Yes! Let's do this! No more stuttering or blushing!”

Her friend chuckled. “That's the spirit. C'mon, girl.”

 

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Not long after, they made it to the sushi restaurant. They found the boys were waiting for them inside.

They were sitting in a booth, Nino and Adrien opposite each other. The two boys were in the middle of a conversation, with Nino's back to Marinette and Alya. Adrien was the one who noticed them first, face brightening into a smile as he waved them over. Alya, of course, took the seat next to her boyfriend leaving her sitting next to...

“Adrien! Hello!” Marinette said abruptly as she slid next to him. Pulling her eyes away from his emerald green ones, she addressed the last member of the party. “Hi, Nino!” He finger gunned in greeting. 

Adrien's smile faltered only for a moment before he handed a menu to Marinette. “The waiter was here a few minutes ago, but we haven't ordered anything yet. I haven't looked at the options yet either, since I wanted to see what everybody was up for first. Sushi is a very communal dinner.”

At once, everyone opened their menus and began hungrily scanning them for the best rolls. Marinette was still considering the apetitzers when Alya cried out in excitement. She spun her menu over to Marinette and placed a finger on the house specials: The Ladybug Rolls and the Chat Noir Rolls. 

“Can you believe it, girl? Apparently they offered them as one-year anniversary specials back at the start of the school year. Everyone loved them so much, they kept them on as special rolls!” Alya said, breathlessly, having already read the sidebar blurb next to the rolls.

One year anniversary. She and Chat Noir had been akuma-fighting partners for over a year now. How time flies when fighting for your life. She smiled nostalgically as she thought about her second best friend, her chin on her hand. Alya continued, eyes closed and head held high in a mock display of pretentiousness. “Obviously, we will be ordering Ladybug rolls.”

Marinette responded absently, still reminiscing. “And what is Ladybug without Chat Noir? We'll need an order of them to go with the Ladybug rolls.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Adrien's face light up. She almost forgot that he was a big fanboy of Chat. 

Their eyes locked...

“I'm really feeling these Dynamite and California rolls, dudes.”

Only to be drawn back to the moment by Nino's appetite. 

The debate on what to order was steered by Adrien's recommendations, since he had the most experience out of the group with high-end sushi. They listened to him regale them with his worldly knowledge. 

“Normally, for a group of four, it is usually recommended to get four or five sets of rolls. However...” He was interrupted by the rebellion of his own stomach, which growled angrily. “...I'm a big eater these days, so I'd like to get six sets, and two appetizers.”

Marinette was giggling at Adrien when her own gut cried out. She blushed and looked up at Adrien, who had a smug grin on his face. It wasn't her fault that her heroics meant she needed a waaaaay greater calorie intake. Not that she could say that to anyone here, of course. Instead, she coughed. “Yeah, that sounds great. Let’s do that.” She spoke quickly, hoping to get the conversation on track.

In the end, they decided on edamame and calamari for appetizers, and six sets of rolls for the main course: California rolls, dynamite rolls, dragon rolls, spider rolls, the Ladybug rolls, and the Chat Noir rolls. They didn't have to wait too long on their cucumber water, and the appetizers came hot on their heels. 

While they were waiting, Adrien took it upon himself to teach his audience the ancient secrets of chopsticks.

Marinette surprised him by already having mastered it. “Wow, Marinette! How did you get so good at this?”

She looked at him warmly and with a bit of pride in herself. “My mother was very insistent on keeping her culture alive with me.” Her mother may have been born in France, but her grandmother was from China. “It would have brought dishonor on my family, dishonor on me, and dishonor on my cow if I couldn't even use chopsticks.”

Adrien laughed aloud at this. _Was he a fan of Disney movies too?_

“Yeah, well, some of us still need help, Miss Worldly.” Alya reminded them by failing to pick up even one of the soybean pods. Turning to Adrien, Marinette shared a look with him that said “We will bring culture to these barbarians.” This goal kept them occupied until the main course arrived.

At that point, Alya had become proficient and had acquired a taste for calamari, which she finished almost single handedly. Adrien had been struggling to come up with a pun involving Marinette and calamari - “calaMARI, it's right there, I know it!” She made a mental note of Adrien liking puns. She’d have to listen more carefully to Chat’s puns instead of blocking them out as usual.

Either Adrien was not as good a teacher as Marinette, or Nino was simply a lost cause. When the waiter arrived with the first plates of sushi, Nino swallowed his pride and quietly asked for a fork. 

Some gentle teasing later and they could at last dig in. Nino tried to regain some of his lost honor by dunking a California roll in wasabi. This went... poorly for him. 

“I tried to warn you.” Adrien said with feigned disinterest, suppressing a chuckle at his friend's situation. 

Nino probably would have responded, had he not been chugging his water at that time, tears flowing freely down his face. Alya was patting his back, a half-smile playing on her face, and a Ladybug roll halfway to her mouth. Once Nino recovered, she ate it, the first of the group to have one. Everyone followed her lead to taste test the hero rolls.

As it turns out, the Ladybug roll was lobster, olive, and tomato, with a cream cheese filling. Sesame seeds were mixed into the sticky rice, making it a crunchy roll. 

Adrien was gushing over it. “God, this is great. Sweet and savory all at once, and the crunch compliments the lobster beautifully. A perfect snack for the perfect heroine.” He leaned back, blushing slightly at his outburst, but not back peddling on any of it. Alya glanced over to Marinette with concern, but Marinette was on cloud nine. _Adrien (indirectly) called me perfect!_

“Are we all ready for the Chat Noir roll? This one has wasabi already in it – the only one on the menu that does – so it is not for the faint of heart.” As Alya said this, she looked directly at Nino, who defiantly meet her gaze and speared the first of the dark green rolls. 

Adrien commented, “I don't see how it can compare to Ladybug, but I'll try one.”

As it turns out, Chat Noir was made of tuna, avocado, wrapped in dark seaweed, and, as promised, contained wasabi – an unusual decision, but then, Chat was an unusual hero.

No one was able to stand the heat, despite the excellent taste. Well, _almost_ no one was able to stand it.

“Honestly, it isn't _that_ hot, you guys.” Marinette's cheeks were flushed by the heat, but it didn't bother her. She had built up a tolerance for spicy foods, it being one of her favorites. 

“Girl, I liked it too. Hell, I had a second, but it wasn't an easy task.” Alya crossed her arms, one hand raised dismissively. “But I definitely prefer the Ladybug.” 

Adrien finished chewing and nodded. “Same here.” The plates were almost all empty at this point, a few stranglers all that remained of the great bounty they had ordered. 

“My man, I'll stick with the dragon roll, thank you very much.” Eel, cucumber, and crab. Tasty, but mild. Marinette giggled at Nino’s choice.

She was rather content with how the meal went. She got to sit next to Adrien, they had all laughed, Nino had cried, she got to sit next to Adrien, she got to taste new foods, she got to sit next to Adrien...

“And what did _you_ like most?” A voice to her left drew her back to the conversation. Adrien was watching her with interest. 

She shoved down the brief rise of panic – which has gotten much easier over the course of the dinner – and gave it some thought. “Definitely Chat Noir is my favorite.”

Adrien's eyes widened and he gave a genuine, warm smile. “I bet that means a lot to him.”

Marinette giggled. “Well, yes, I like Chat Noir, but I was talking about the roll based on him. Tuna seems a bit stereotypical, but it is really good.”

“The heat doesn't bother you?” Adrien inquired.

“Nope! I like my food spicy. It is a good contrast from all the sweet food back at home.” 

The waiter arrived with the bill, which Adrien took from Marinette's hands as she tried to look at it. She playfully tried to take it back, but Adrien simply leaned back and placed his credit card inside before handing it back. Marinette huffed. She would like to know just how much she owed Adrien, but that thought was derailed as he grinned at her and winked.

“None of you will know how much I spent here, so none of you get the idea of trying to pay me back. This is definitely my treat.”

Nino shot back, “True, but we are the ones that are paying for the movies.” He held up a finger as Adrien was about to protest. “You are cray-cray if you think we're letting you pay so much as a cent after we get out of here, dude.” 

“Well, once I get my card back, are we ready to head out?”

Everyone said yes or an equivalent, and they were out the door. 

With how far along into winter they were, the day was already giving way to night. They were a bit ahead of schedule and would definitely be getting to the 6pm showing with more than enough time. The conversation winded into classwork.

“So you guys haven't started on the project yet either?” Alya addressed Nino and Adrien. They shook their heads.

“Nah, dude. It has been pretty rough tryin' to get a few hours outta my boy Adrien here.” Turning to face said boy, he asks, “You still free tomorrow? We'll need to meet up and get to work on it.”

“You know...” Marinette began, looking to the side. “We don't have much work done on it either, and we got special permission to work in the school library tomorrow morning. Maybe you could join us? Four minds will be better than two.” She finished, looking back at her friends.

Naturally, the first pair of eyes she meet was Adrien's, who looked positively excited. “That sounds great!” His giddy smile wavered. “Although, it might be difficult since I'd have to go home tonight, then wake up early tomorrow just to be there on time.”

Alya, ever the noblest wingwoman, made a suggestion. “We could have a sleepover at Mari's! It is great there, they have plenty of sweets, they cook a phenomenal breakfast, and there are plenty of movies.”

Her heart swelled and threatened to stop simultaneously. She'd need to keep them downstairs while she hid the incriminating evidence on her walls, but she could pull this off. “I don't know if my parents would be willing to let me have boys over, but since we're arriving early, I'll call and ask. I'm sure if they have warning they'll be fine with it.”

Nino responded quickly. “My folks won't have any problem with it. I'll tell them I'm staying at Adrien's, just to be on the safe side.”

Adrien looked like a puppy staring at a cake – desire mixed with fear of the consequences. “I doubt my father will let me stay over anywhere.”

“Pft! Just tell him you are hanging out at my place, like usual. He hasn't had a problem with that, so we ought to be good now. Sure, you haven't stayed over before, but that shouldn't change anything.” Nino said while sliding an arm around Alya, holding his fist out to Adrien.

Adrien took a moment to consider this, a mischievous expression on his face as he fist bumped Nino. “Sounds like a plan. I'll call and inform Nathalie and I'll tell her about our plans for tomorrow.”

With that, the conversation shifted to other topics.

 

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They arrived at the movie theater a few minutes later. And so the great argument began – what movie to see? 

Nino was practically giddy when he saw that Blood Nationator IV: Bonebreaker's Lament was out. His companions all shared a similar, unimpressed look.

“I'm going to say no.”

“Definitely not, babe.”

“Sorry, bro.”

He shrugged it off. “It was a long shot anyway. None of you are hardcore enough to withstand two and a half hours of awesome bloodshed anyway.” He flexed to punctuate his statement. Marinette thought back to when Nino was crying from wasabi less than an hour ago. 

Alya squealed, drawing her attention to a poster for what she mentally called 'Cheesy Love Story Two: The Honeymoon.' Hard pass on that.

She managed to drag Alya away from it, only to catch Adrien staring at a poster for Over the Edge – a kid's movie chock full of songs. A proper coming of age story. He was biting his lip as if debating with himself. When he saw Marinette looking at him, he closed his eyes while rubbing the back of his neck, a nervous chuckle leaving his throat. _Was that a blush I saw...?_

Being teenagers, all of them gravitated towards “Betrayal at the Winter Manor.” Well, all of them but one. 

“Alya, you know how I feel about horror movies!” Marinette whined, pleading with her friend. Adrien flashed her a sympathetic look, probably remembering her comment when they went to see his mother's movie.

“Oh, don't worry, girl; you'll be fine.” Whispering conspiratorially with Marinette, she added. “And I'm sure the sun prince over there would be more than willing to let you hide in his shoulder if things get too rough for you.” She winked, and Marinette's face heated up. She risked a look at Adrien, who blinked and tilted his head, blissfully unaware. 

With the full force of Nino and Alya pushing for it, the decision was made: Betrayal at the Winter Manor was the movie they would be watching. They purchased tickets – Nino paid for Alya, and Marinette paid for Adrien. 

They each called their parents (or, in Adrien's case, Nathalie) after entering the theater. Adrien had the most difficulty, but even that wasn't too much hassle. They were cleared for a sleepover. 

Which left the concessions stand. Despite having just ate, everyone agreed that movie food doesn't count as real food, and could be consumed freely.

Alya and Nino stepped forward first, Alya paying for the couple's snacks.

This left Marinette in charge of feeding Adrien, who was being far too gentlemanly for his own good.

“Really, Marinette, I'm fine. I had plenty at the restaurant. I'll just get a small drink.”

 _Like hell was that all he is getting, after all he paid for!_ Marinette thought with conviction. He had already admitted earlier that he was perpetually hungry. Marinette assumed this was because of puberty, but didn't dwell on it too much. 

It was their turn to order. Marinette told Adrien, “Okay, what do you want for a drink?”

“Small red slushy.”

To the concession worker, she said, “Two large slushies, one red and one blue.” To Adrien, she asked, “Did you want candy?”

Adrien's eyes widened at her order, but he managed to spit out, “No, I'm fine.”

Turning back to the counter, she said, “Two packs of Whoppers, two packs of gummy worms.”

Smiling sweetly, Marinette turned back to Adrien. “And you said you didn't want popcorn, right?”

At this point, Adrien was trying his best to give a disapproving look, but was struggling to suppress the smile that threatened to break out. It was a mess. _But he is a cute mess_ , Marinette thought. Adrien nodded, unable to speak for fear of losing what little composure he had left.

Marinette turned one last time to the worker, who was grinning at the exchange, with the final part of her order. “One large tub of popcorn.”

After they got all of their food, she said to Adrien. “You know, I don't think I'll be able to finish all this popcorn by myself. It would be very polite if you'd help me make sure it doesn't go to waste.”

Adrien gave a theatrical sigh. “If this is what I must do to help a lady in distress, how can I refuse?” 

She rolled her eyes, but his mock chivalry brought a smile to her face. 

They met back up with Alya and Nino, who had watched it all unfold. Alya shot a grin and cocked eyebrow Marinette's way, while Nino was holding back laughter. They all began walking to their movie. They found their seats without issue, although they were on the end, so on Marinette's left was the aisle. She placed the popcorn on her lap, within easy reach of Adrien, who helped himself to a handful.

Which is about when Marinette remembered it was a horror movie they were about to watch. She slumped in her seat, only to feel a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into the summer green eyes of her crush, which were clouded with worry. Whispering, he asked, “Are you going to be alright?” 

She was thankful for the dark which would help conceal her blush. She nodded. “I hate horror movies, but I can bare to watch one every once in a while.” 

Adrien seemed to mull this over. He smiled mischievously. “Well, I'll see what I can do to help.” 

Marinette was suspicious as to what that meant, but didn't have time to dwell on it since the movie was officially starting. 

 

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It didn't take long for her to regret her decisions. She definitely should have put her foot down on watching Over the Edge. At least there was one benefit to all this.

“The monster's costume is really fake looking. They should've hired you to do it, Mari, you would've done much better.” Adrien said as he leaned closer.

He had been doing this for most of the movie thus far. Every time she retreated further into her seat, Adrien would whisper something encouraging to her, or point out the flaws of the movie. It wasn't 100% effective, but the thought of Adrien going out of his way to comfort her was endearing. 

They ended up leaning pretty close to one another, partially to hear each other better. On Adrien's end, it was also because Alya and Nino had long since given up watching the movie to make out. If they had even tried watching the movie at all. 

“I've worn more comprehensive make-up jobs than that.” Adrien scoffed as the monster's face was visible in moonlight. 

Now that made Marinette giggle. She sobered quickly after another jump scare. She muttered to herself, “None of this would've happened if we'd just gone and watched Over the Edge.”

Apparently she hadn't been quiet enough, because Adrien's face whipped around to her, his mouth forming an 'o' shape, eyes wide with hope. “You wanted to watch Over the Edge too?”

Marinette blinked. “Yeah, I've actually been looking forward to it for a while, but I kinda resigned myself to getting it on dvd. I doubt Alya would want to watch a kid's movie with me in public.”

Adrien tapped his finger to his chin for a moment, looking away. “Alya might not, but I do. What do you say we ditch this movie and sneak over to Over the Edge? I know a showing is about to start, and it's late enough that kids are probably at home.”

A smile dawned on Marinette's face. Then she remembered her other friends. “What about Nino and Alya?” Adrien leaned back to let Marinette see past him, and glanced over to the other two. Wow. They were... really going at it. No wonder the poor boy was practically leaning over her. Not that she was complaining.

“I'd be surprised if they notice much of anything right now.”

Marinette gathered up her snacks and got up, Adrien right behind her. As it turns out, Over the Edge was only the next theater over, so they ducked in easily. Checking their phones, they had only been in Betrayal for an hour... out of three. Over the Edge was just starting, and was one and a half hours long. Plenty of time to sneak back before they were missed.

 

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As it turns out, they had the entire theater to themselves, for whatever reason. Which meant they got to live up to their full dorkiness. Singing as much as they could on a first viewing, getting enraptured with the emotional journey of the hero, energetically (read: loudly) praising the animation, and more. 

It was during one such moment that Alya's prediction unfolded, though not in the way she had intended it to. A joke from the movie hit Marinette particularly hard, and she simply could not stop laughing.

Adrien was chuckling, but more at Marinette than anything the movie did. He asked, “Are you going to be alright there, Marinette?”

With a great force of will, she started to pull herself together. Adrien took the opportunity to repeat the line that had driven her to a giggle fit, complete with a surprisingly good imitation of the character's god awful voice. “What does a nosy pepper do, Mari? _Get jalepeno business!_ ”

Alas, it was too much for Marinette. She had been slain. The giggles were back – with friends. They were too many. She doubled over and leaned forward onto something soft, ignorant of the world while lost to hysterical madness. 

Eventually, she returned to the sane world, and she breathed in the scent of lavender. Realization dawned on her. 

Her head was buried in Adrien's shoulder. Who was still laughing. And who she had just sniffed.

She jolted back, face completely given over to the shade and temperature of a grilled tomato. Adrien didn't seem to notice, his green eyes still filled with mirth as the last of the laughter found its way out of his system. He glanced at the screen, frowning when he saw it was the credits roll.

“Well, I guess we ought to head back to the other two...” He trailed off as he saw Marinette frozen, blush still on her face as she stared at Adrien. He shifted uncomfortably. “Are... you alright, Marinette? Did I do something wrong?”

The distress in his voice stirred something within her that overcame her embarrassment. She furiously shook her head, “No, no, I had just thought of something is all.” She began picking up the remnants of her snacks. 

With the odds stacked against them, the snacks didn't really stand a chance. They gave a valiant account of themselves, but it was too much. Not a Whopper, worm, or piece of popcorn survived the encounter. 

Adrien helped her take it all to the garbage. Marinette rubbed her arm while looking to the side. She spoke timidly. “Sorry for making you watch a kids' movie.” 

“No. Don't you dare apologize.”

Marinette looked up, surprised at the tone of his voice.

He held up his hand, raising a finger for every point. “I got to hang out with real friends, I got to movie hop, I got to watch a cheesy _high-art_ kids' movie without judgment, I've had an amazing time doing all of it, and I'm about to have my first real sleepover. There is nothing to feel sorry for.”

Marinette smiled, and this time there were some tears in her eyes. _There was so much he has missed out on._ Before she realized she was doing it, she had thrown herself around Adrien's waist, head buried in his chest. 

Adrien froze for a moment before hugging back, arms wrapped around her shoulders and his chin resting on top of her head.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, Marinette only reluctantly pulling back once the overwhelming sadness at Adrien's home life and her unbridled joy at his words gave way to embarrassment. 

She coughed and looked away. “Lets... get back to our seats.”

It was with a small amount of satisfaction that she saw he was a bit flustered as well. It dawned on her that she was the one who had pulled back – not him. While she kept her composure, she was giddy inside. He only nodded in response, a faint smile ghosting on his lips.

They got back with about twenty minutes left in the show, Alya and Nino who were still attached at the lips. The climatic ending took place, but Marinette was still thinking about being in Adrien's embrace. The horror didn't stand a chance against that inner warmth, and she got through the movie without trouble. 

They all got up to leave. 

“So.” Alya began. “Where did you two run off to in the middle of the movie?”


	5. Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the sleepover takes place and embarrassment is had all around.

Marinette's pupils narrowed into pin pricks as she tensed up at the question. _What can I say that isn't going to get me mocked forever? 'Sorry, I just snuck out of the movie with my crush to watch Over the Edge?'_ If nothing else, Alya would tease her about finally being alone with Adrien and doing nothing with it.

Before she could formulate a response, Adrien had reached his hand behind his head to rub the back of his neck. He gave a sheepish smile. “Sorry about that! I wasn't really liking Betrayal at Winter Manor. I didn't want to go alone, so I asked Marinette if she could go watch a different movie with me. I would've told you two, but you seemed busy.” He said with a nudge to Nino's side and a wink. 

Nino nodded sagely while Marinette was stunned into silence. _Was he... was he covering for me?_ “That sounds like my main man alright. He tries to drag me to see kids' movies all the time.” He looked at Marinette, laughing. “Looks you finally roped someone into it after all.” 

They had funneled out of the movie theater while talking, and were back out onto the streets.

Alya snorted. “Can't have been too hard. Marinette here loooves watching Disney movies during our sleepovers. You better let us watch some live action movies tonight, girl!” She paused outside the building. “We'll probably need to split up from here if we want to get packed and headed over to Marinette's.”

“If you guys want, I could call the Gorilla to take us. We'd get done a lot faster, and besides, it is already pretty dark out.” Adrien motioned to the street lights that were coming on. 

Nino considered this. “Sure, I'm down. Whatever gets us inside fastest.” He finished with a shiver. Marinette had almost forgotten about the chill.

A brief call and some waiting later, and the Gorilla arrived as promised. Nino's house was closest, so they stopped there first. He went inside briefly, bringing back out a lightly packed bag. 

He met Adrien's curious look and laughed lightly. “Not all of us are high maintenance models, dude.”

They were now on the way to Alya's as Adrien retorted. “I am not that high maintenance.”

“Remember when your daddio was under attack by an akuma's brainwashed army and you went to take a shower?”

Adrien sputtered, but couldn't offer a response. Instead, he very maturely stuck out his tongue and looked out the window. Which got everyone giggling at him. Nino patted his back to console him. 

Alya moved to leave the car, but stopped and asked, “Marinette, would you mind helping me pack?” 

Marinette was surprised – Alya wasn't exactly high maintenance either – but accepted. 

They went inside, waved at her parents and began getting a change of clothes put together. Alya was folding a shirt and asked nonchalantly, “So Mr Agreste is covering for you. What did you two get up to if he felt the need to do that?”

Marinette froze. Of course she picked up on that. “Well, nothing really... He was comforting me during the movie, but when that wasn't helping much, we realized we both wanted to go watch Over the Edge. So we did.” She ended matter-of-factly. Alya put her hands on her hips and stared her down. “...We may have also hugged.”

Her best friend's eyes widened. She placed an arm around Marinette, pulling her into a half hug. “You go girl! This is way better than what we had thought would happen! You'll be together in no time.” Marinette's heart soared at Alya's praise, and she couldn't stop a wide smile from forming on her face.

It didn't take much time at all to pack, especially with two people. A couple of minutes later and they were back in the limo, heading to the Agreste Mansion. 

Adrien was shifting anxiously in his seat as they pulled into the driveway. “I'm going to try to get in and out as fast as I can, but Nathalie might catch me and inform me about father's rules for being out. If that happens, I probably won't be out for about a half an hour, so don't be too worried if I'm not back soon. Okay?” He turned to look them in the eyes, worry evident in his. 

_Is he afraid we'll be mad at him?_ “We'll be right here waiting for you, Adrien.” Marinette accompanied her words with a small smile. She saw some of the worry fall from Adrien's shoulders as he left the limo. Her smile vanished once the door closed. _'Father'? That' so... formal. Distant. How can someone so warm come from a home so cold?_

Alya speaking to her left brought her back to her immediate surroundings. “Not even a single stutter. I'm proud of you, girl.” 

Distracted by her previous thoughts, the three of them spent the time waiting for Adrien talking about the night so far and what they could do for the sleepover. 

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Adrien slipped inside his room without being noticed. Plagg zipped out of his charge's overshirt as he began packing his bag. 

“Ooo la la, lover boy. You and that Marinette girl are hitting it off nicely, I'd say.” There was a knowing glint in Plagg's eyes as Adrien stopped packing to glance at him. What did he know?

“I told you before, Plagg. Marinette is just a friend.”

“Uh-huh. We'll see how well that works out.” Plagg snickered. He has been awfully... insistent lately about his relationship with Marinette. 

Adrien was too focused on deciphering his kwami's motivations to pay much attention to the night clothes he had chosen for the sleepover. He grabbed his toothbrush from his personal bathroom. From the other room, he could hear Plagg rustling around in Adrien's private refrigerator. Upon returning, he discovered Plagg floating over a large mound of cheese. “I think this ought to do it if we are going to be roughing it at someone else's house.”

Adrien groaned and pulled out the same old argument as to why he wouldn't be carrying around twenty pounds of camembert. 

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

They had decided on movies and games by the time Adrien had returned to the limo. Marinette caught a whiff of cheese as Adrien entered, but didn't give it much thought. After all, Adrien had always had a barely perceivable scent of cheese about him for as long as she knew him. 

Nino boggled his eyes in mock amazement. “Woah! That's gotta be the fastest you've ever gotten ready for a night out!” After Adrien gently shoved his friend in exasperation, Nino became a bit more serious. “So Nathalie didn't catch you, dude?”

“No, I was pretty quick while I was in the halls. Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if she had gone with father for his meeting.”

Alya whistled. “So you would've had the house to yourself then? Sounds pretty cool.” 

“You get used to it. It is pretty common for the house to be empty or close to it.”

Marinette felt a pang of pity for Adrien. It was a huge place to be all alone in. 

He glanced at Marinette, and must've seen some of her thought process. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Don't worry! You should see my room – I have plenty of things to keep me busy.”

 _Things aren't much of a replacement for people._ Marinette forced her expression to soften, if only for Adrien's sake. She might not be able to change his home life, but she can at least make him feel comfortable with his friends. 

They arrived at her home without incident, Marinette taking the lead into the family-owned bakery. The shop had already closed, and her parents were preparing for bed. 

Marinette's father met with them before heading to his room. He stood beside Marinette, and had a hand on her shoulder, pulling her into a half-hug while he talked. “We will probably be up for a couple more hours if you need anything. You're free to use the living room if you want to play games, but just remember to keep it down when Marinette trounces you.” He and Marinette grinned while the rest groaned. 

“Don't worry, papa, we'll be quiet.” 

With that, they filed upstairs, but once Marinette opened the hatch, her heart stopped. THE POSTERS was all her mind could muster up at the moment. She dashed forward, and closed the trap door into her room enough that nothing was visible past her head. 

“SorryIforgotIneededtocleanmyroom!” She spat the words out quickly and just barely caught the shocked expressions of Nino and Adrien, and Alya’s knowing look. The door slammed behind her. 

A sweeping look over her room revealed that, yes, her walls were still decorated with the face of Adrien Agreste, who was only a few steps downstairs. She made a show of walking all over her room, despite Tikki getting most of the posters, mostly to make it seem like she wasn't overreacting to her friends. A few minutes later, she opened the trap door again, wearing a nervous smile as she waved them up. 

Her friends entered her room, their bags placed near the door. “Before we go back downstairs, let's be clear on where everyone is sleeping, okay? Since my parents will be up early, it is for the best if we are all in here. Otherwise, they'll end up waking us up when they get moving at four in the morning.”

Nino and Alya edged closer to each other. Addressing those two, she said, “You two can take my bed.” She looked at Adrien. “You can take the chaise. I'll make a nest on the floor.”

Adrien opened his mouth to respond, but was stopped when Marinette held up her hand. “No, I'm the host so I get the floor. Besides, I'll have more than enough pillows and blankets to keep me comfortable.”

He seemed to bite back a response and accepted her decision. 

Alya cleared her throat to draw their attention to her. “While we are waiting for your parents to go to sleep, why don't we play a game up here to pass the time?” Alya grinned.

The look Adrien wore could be described (by Marinette) as 'adorably confused'. “The game console is downstairs, right? What would we play up here?”

Her response was a blank stare at Adrien. “Right, you've never had a sleepover before. Well, a traditional game would be Truth or Dare.” She locked eyes with Marinette, and this time her grin was entirely predatory. Marinette's eyes widened in fear at what her best friend had planned. 

Before she could suggest another game, Adrien's eyes lit up, “That sounds great! How do we play?”

“Name pretty much covers it, dude. We sit down in a circle. Each person asks one other person of the group to choose either Truth or Dare. If they choose truth, then that person must answer a question honestly. If dare, then that person has to do whatever the other person wants.”

Adrien listened with rapt attention as Nino explained the rules. Marinette thought to herself. _He is really getting into this. Then again, it is his first sleepover. Adrien shuffled on his feet, nervousness evident on his face._

__

“We won't be shaming anyone, and you can always back out if you want. We shouldn't have fun at anyone's expense.” Marinette added, without really expecting anyone to try anything like that. She mostly just wanted to be sure that Adrien was comfortable. For what it was worth, Adrien stopped fidgeting and flashed a brief, but bright, smile. 

__

They cleared a small circle in the middle of the room and sat down on the floor. Clockwise, their arrangement was Alya, Adrien, Marinette, and Nino. It was unanimously agreed that since Marinette was the host, she would go first. 

__

Marinette decided to go with the safest option to start the game. “Alya – truth or dare?”

__

There was a glint in Alya's eyes as she responded. “Truth, always.”

__

“What was the last thing you searched for one your phone?”

__

Alya blinked, clearly caught off guard. She pulled out said phone and checked her search history, reading it aloud as she did so. “Ladynoir Fanfic recs.” 

__

It was Marinette's turn to be caught off guard. It didn't surprise her that Alya shipped the superheroic duo, but she didn't expect her to be reading fanfictions about them. It was a strange feeling. She saw Adrien grin and hold up his hand for a high five. She bit her lip nervously. _Would it break his heart if Ladybug and Chat never got together because Ladybug was too busy pursuing someone else?_

__

Nino leaned forward with a wicked smile as he addressed his best friend. “Adrien, my bro, pick your poison. Truth... or dare?”

__

Adrien seemed to ignore the devilish posturing of his friend and put a finger to his lips and hummed as if considering the answers to the universe. Once his friends started throwing pillows at him, he laughed. “Okay, okay! Give me your worst dare, DJ Nino.”

__

“I dare you to let us all pose you and take a picture.”

__

Adrien adopted a comically offended tone. “I see how it is. Trying to use my beautiful face for whatever nefarious schemes you have in mind.” He laid the back of his hand against his forehead as he leaned back against the chaise. “Very well, you savages. Do with me as you wish.” He held aloft an arm in front of him. 

__

Taking the offered arm, Nino pulled him up as Alya and Marinette slowly got to their feet. Adrien had gone completely limp, requiring Nino to support him. Nino paused. “Bro, you like anime, right?”

__

Adrien froze, uncertainty on his face as he looked at everyone in the room. He replied with a meek “...Yes?”

__

Nino laid him on the chaise, pulling out his phone. He muted it while pulling up a video, motioning Marinette and Alya over to him. He showed them the video, pausing at the very end. All of them could barely contain their laughter. Marinette looked over to Adrien, whose eyes were wide with both curiosity and apprehension. 

__

They made him stand with his legs spread apart, one foot far in front of the other. One hand was on his hip and his other hand was making the 'v for victory' sign, palm facing outward as it was pressed against his forehead. They then had him his upper body to face the side.

__

The phones clicked as the pictures were taken, allowing Adrien to see the pose they had made him make. His mouth gaped, before he started laughing. “The Sailor Moon cosmic power pose?! Really?!”

__

_Big fan of old school anime?_ Marinette stored that information for later as well. She realized there was a lot about Adrien she hadn’t known until tonight.

__

They settled back down in their original circle. Alya rubbed her hands together as she fixed Marinette with the Look. _Marinette braced herself for whatever her best friend had in mind. If I say 'truth', they she'll have me admit my feelings. If I say 'dare' she might have me do something embarrassing with Adrien._

__

Before she could further weigh the pros and cons, Alya suddenly turned to Adrien and asked, “Truth or dare?” 

__

Adrien pouted. “I just had one! Isn't it someone else's turn?”

__

“You have to do a different person each time, but several people in a row can ask the same person.” Alya responded with the tone of a world-wise scholar. 

__

“Dare, then.”

__

“I dare you to kiss Marinette.”

__

Marinette choked on air, entering into a coughing fit. _At least I have an excuse for my blush._ She glanced over at Adrien, whose eyes had widened. A blush to match her own had crept over his features as he hesitantly met Marinette's eyes. “Um, sure. If you don't mind, Mari?”

__

Nino and Alya exchanged a look at the nickname, small smiles on their faces. 

__

Her progress in keeping the stuttering at bay was immediately and severely derailed. “U-uh, s-sure! You are so fine! I mean, it's totally fine! Why wouldn't it be?! I-I mean...” She would've continued stammering, but Adrien had slid over to her. The distance closed between them, his face was centimeters away from hers. Her mind went completely blank as she stared into the warm summer green of his eyes. 

__

She felt his warm breath on her cheek as he hesitated. He gave her a chaste peck on the cheek and slide away. Red tinted his face as he adopted a forcibly relaxed pose, grinning like a dope despite his best efforts. He reached for an unopened bag of candy.

__

She felt both overwhelmed and wanting more. It was only belatedly that she realized Alya was nudging Adrien. “Your turn, pretty boy.”

__

He jolted up. “Um, Marinette! Truth or dare?”

__

Thoughts moving as if in a haze, Marinette processed what he had said and managed to say, “Dare.”

__

He blew air from his mouth in a slow deflation. He clearly hadn't thought ahead for a dare. He glanced at the bag of candy he held in his hands, still unopened. He offered it to Marinette. “I dare you to open this bag using only your mouth.”

__

_So he has my mouth on the brain, huh?_ The thought immediately sprung into her mind, which had her blushing again. Still, she didn't want to back down from the only challenge she had been given thus far.

__

She leaned her head forward to the proffered bag, eyes briefly meeting Adrien's. She grasped it with her teeth and began pulling. It took a bit of pushing with her tongue as well, but she tore the bag open! 

__

...Right onto her floor. She sighed.

__

“Sorry!” Adrien apologized as he scrambled to pick up the spilled goods. He struggled to get them all, occasionally fumbling them. He seemed... flustered. 

__

After helping Adrien clean up the mess, Marinette considered her options. She was struck by inspiration and turned to face Nino. “Truth or Dare, Nino?”

__

Nino turned his cap around and locked eyes with Marinette, mock determination filling his eyes. “Dare me.”

__

“I dare you to serenade Alya with a cheesy love song.”

__

To his credit, Nino didn't even flinch as he turned to Alya and wagged his eyebrows, a song already emerging from his throat. “You... are my fire... my one... desire...” 

__

Marinette was surprised he knew the entire song. Adrien came in as back-up during the chorus, giving an over-the-top performance to match Nino's. All of which had Marinette on her back laughing, while Alya had placed her face in her palm. Yet from her lower vantage point, Marinette could see she was wearing a wide grin. 

__

They settled down after a few minutes. Nino had to catch his breath before getting his turn in. “So, Alya.” His breathing evened out. “Truth or dare?”

__

Chin in her hand, she responded, “Truth.”

__

“Do you sing in the shower?”

__

“Now what had you thinking about me and showers, hm? To answer your question, yes, I do. My shower is my concert.” Nino nodded in agreement. A fist was held up, which Alya bumped with her own.

__

Once again, Alya locked eyes with Marinette. “Truth or dare, Mari?” 

__

_Is that a bait? If I say truth, will she ask when Adrien starting calling me that? The answer is pretty tame and I don't think I can handle another dare so..._ “Truth!” 

__

“Have you ever kissed or been kissed before? And I mean a _real_ kiss.” She said this, giving a look to Adrien, who rubbed the back of his neck and averted his eyes. “If not, is there anyone in particular you would want your first kiss to be with?” 

__

_Eep! It was bait! Although... technically, she did kiss Chat Noir during that whole Dark Cupid thing. But if she said 'yes' then that would led to more questions, and she owed it to Tikki to nip that in the bud._ “No, and yes, I do have someone in mind.” She closed her eyes and leaned back, to avoid accidentally looking at Adrien while saying that. 

__

After it became clear Marinette would not continue, Alya prodded, “Well? Care to give names?” 

__

Marinette remembered Truesight as she gave her response. “If you want to know the answer to that, you'll have to use another turn.” She grinned at Alya's scowl. In the corner of her eyes, she saw Adrien tilt his head curiously, but the expression passed quickly as he remembered it was his turn.

__

Despite Alya's non-too-subtle hints that he should continue the line of questioning, Adrien was not as accommodating as Chat Noir was. Adrien addressed Nino. “Your destiny awaits, bro. Truth... or dare?”

__

“Dare, without doubt. I'm on fire with them.”

__

“I dare you to let us put makeup on you.” Adrien laughed at Nino's slackened jaw. “What? Everyone else here has worn makeup. It's not like it'd be weird for any of us.”

__

Nino couldn't argue with that, and so Marinette fished around in her drawers for a cheap makeup kit that a family member had sent on her last birthday. It might not be good enough for day to day usage, but for a makeup that would be taken off immediately after? Ideal. 

__

Alya took over – if the two of them were working on him at once, they'd just get in each other's' way. That didn't stop Adrien and Marinette from helping out whenever possible, of course. 

__

She moved like a woman possessed. Well within half an hour, she had already applied the foundation, powder, blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner (“I am not trying to poke out your eyes, you big baby”), mascara, lipliner, and lipstick. 

__

Nino looked fierce!

__

...for a whole ten minutes before he could no longer stand to wear all of it. 

__

Adrien went to help him remove it all (after they had taken pictures, of course), and they were back in five minutes.

__

Nino and Alya were leaning on each other in their spots, struggling to stay awake. The last dare had really taken their toll on them. Finally, Alya couldn't stand it any longer. “Girl, I'm getting changed and going to bed. Don't do anything I wouldn't do, okay?” Nino wordless picked up his bag and moved into a side room, about to do the same.

__

This left Marinette and Adrien alone in her room. Tentatively, Marinette asked, “Adrien? Do you mind if we do one more?”

__

Adrien, whose eyes were closed as he laid back against the chaise, opened them as he looked at her. “Sure. Ask away.”

__

She cleared her throat. “Truth... or truth?”

__

He smiled. “I don't think that's the question you are supposed to ask. But if I had to choose, I'd say... truth.”

__

“If you could switch lives with one person in our school, would you? If so, who?”

__

His eyes went up, staring at the ceiling for a few long minutes. “Yours, I think.”

__

Marinette blinked, surprised. _Seems a downgrade from the life he is used to leading._ “Why?”

__

His hand reached out as if trying to grasp the right words out of the air. “Your house is a home. There isn't a lot of warmth in my house. But here? A home cooked meal everyday, not a high cuisine dinner eaten alone? Parents who are around, who care about how you are doing rather than just what you are doing? It sounds... amazing.”

__

Marinette felt a heavy sense of protectiveness fall over her. _Who would hurt this sweet boy?!_ She reached out to put her hand on his. His wide eyes fell from the ceiling to her, before he smiled. 

__

She removed her hand reluctantly before continuing. “I'm not that tired, but our friends seem to be abandoning us.”

__

He snickered. “The call of sleep is too much for the weak to handle.” 

__

“You know... I have a lot of Disney movies lying around...”

__

They locked eyes, wide grins dawning on their faces. The trap door opened, startling both of them and in trudged Nino and Alya. Stopping only to say goodnight, they marched straight past their two sitting friends and up the stairs to Marinette's bed.

__

Marinette turned to face Adrien and nodded her head to the still-open trap door. While he grabbed his bag and walked down, she opened her dresser and pulled out a tank top and sweatpants. 

__

She stopped by a hallway closet to pick up a blanket and some pillows. Adrien followed behind her as she entered the living room. She put down the blankets and pillows, turning to Adrien after she did so. “I'm going to go into the bathroom to get changed. There is a lock on the living room door, so you can get changed in here, okay?”

__

He nodded, and Marinette went to the bathroom. 

__

 

_\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

 

__

She returned ten minutes later to find him wrapped in blankets, only his head visible. His perfect hair had begun unraveling into a adorable mop of blonde. He seemed a bit... embarrassed, if the flush of red on his cheeks was any indication. 

__

She started thumbing through her movie collection. “You okay there?”

__

He responded with a sleep-deepened voice. “You promise not to laugh?”

__

She bit her lips, fighting a smile. “I promise nothing of the sort, but I won't judge you harshly.”

__

Adrien nodded, accepting that was the best he was going to get. He removed the blankets to reveal...

__

…A matching set of red shorts and T-shirt, complete with black dots. Pale pink text on the front read, in flowing letters, “Miraculous Girl.” Her eyes went wide. 

__

True to her word, she didn't judge him, but she was definitely laughing. Adrien wailed. “I was distracted when packing and was just trying to get in and out quickly, I didn't notice this was what I grabbed!” He gestured to the whole outfit. 

__

She put a hand to her mouth as the laughing fit subsided. “It's okay. Your...” she was about to say 'obsession', but that wasn't quite right. Alya had an obsession with the superhero duo, Adrien just had... “...passion for Ladybug and Chat Noir is pretty obvious anyway. I didn't expect you to have girl's pajamas of her, though.”

__

He was back in his cocoon, pouting (adorably) sadly. “They don't make Ladybug themed men's clothing.”

__

She spoke teasingly, and without thinking. “Well, if you are a good boy, then I'll make you some big boy Ladybug pajamas.” Once she realized what she had said, she winced internally and turned around to apologize.

__

Only to see that his eyes had lit up, and what she could swear were tears in the corners of his eyes. In a small voice he said, “Really?”

__

Her heart went out to him, and she couldn't say no to that face. She spoke gently. “Of course I will, Adrien.”

__

There was a moment of silence, broken only by a barely noticeable sniffling, as she put their first movie in – Tangled. Before she pressed play, however, she assessed their location. Glancing at Adrien, she huffed. _This won't do at all._

__

 

_\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

 

__

She shook her head, her unbound hair gently thrown about her face, and shooed Adrien off the couch. He grumpily complied. When she started turning around the couch, Adrien finally let go of his blankets and helped. 

__

Adrien didn't know what Marinette was up to, but he wasn't about to let her do it all by herself. Curiosity got the better of him when she started taking the couch cushions off, however. 

__

“Mari? What are you doing?”

__

She was setting up the cushions on the floor, standing them straight up with one edge against the back of the couch. She was leaning over the back of the couch while doing so, her back to Adrien. She spoke over her shoulder. “I'm making a pillow fort, of course.”

__

He scrunched his eyebrows together. “A what?”

__

She stopped what she was doing and looked back at him, elbow propped up on the back of the couch, face flushed from exertion. “You've never made a pillow fort?” 

__

He shook his head. He'd heard of them, but he'd assumed they were just something done on television or in movies. She seemed scandalized as she taught him the finer points of pillow engineering. With the cushions as supports and the couch providing an anchor, they soon had the functional skeleton of a comfortable fortress. 

__

After that, they put a big, heavy blanket for the roof, with its ends tucked under the supports. More blankets were added, until they had a snug area to crawl into. Or, more precisely, for Marinette to wiggle into. Her hand shot out from within. “Pillows!” She demanded of her apprentice. Adrien rushed to fetch them, feeding them to her one at a time. Each one got sucked inside until there were no more. “Blankets!” He turned around, only to find that there was just one left.

__

“Chief Architect Mari? We went a bit overboard and we've only got one left.” Her hand fell. Her head poked out, and his heart stopped for a moment. Her hair was no longer in her trademark pigtails, but rather hanging loose around her face. The smooth, slightly reddened skin of her face was framed perfectly by her wild black hair and for the first time he wished he was raised as a photographer rather than a model. _Maybe a poet would have been better?_

__

She blew the hair out of her face, looking at the blanket with reluctance. “It should be good enough for the both of us.” She dragged it in and yelled from inside, “It’s ready! Come in!”

__

He crawled in after her, finding a warm cove that blocked out the lights from the room outside. He could feel himself smiling like a dope as he looked around at the space. Near the entrance were the four pillows he had handed her, the blanket laid out nearby. He caught sight of Marinette, illuminated by the thin sliver of light let in by the entrance. Her deep blue eyes watched him expectantly. 

__

“Its amazing, Marinette! I love it.”

__

A knowing smile graced her features. “Good, since this is the ideal sleepover movie-watching experience. We'll poke our heads out from the entrance, cuddling the pillows and wrapped in the blanket as we watch Tangled.”

__

Adrien was touched. This had taken a while to set up, and it was all for his benefit, just to give him the real sleepover experience. He could feel himself tearing up a bit.

__

He hid the nascent tears by wrapping Marinette in a hug. “Thank you. I really love it.”

__

She seemed too stunned to move, but she relaxed against him and returned the hug. 

__

They assumed the movie watching position and Marinette pressed play.

__

 

_\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

 

__

Marinette was continuing to discover many things about Adrien today. For example – he was a movie talker.

__

Not she minded in this particular movie. _God knows I've seen this one plenty of times before._ And his commentary was often pretty funny. She just didn't expect it out of shy, ever-so-polite and reserved Adrien. 

__

She had also picked up on some similarities between him and the protagonist.

__

It had started when Mother Gothel was telling Rapunzel of the outside world, and all its horrors. She had slipped in her tired state and said to Adrien, “I didn't realize _both_ your parents had careers in the movies. Yet here we have Gabriel Agreste playing Mother Gothel!” She had put her hand over her mouth immediately, only to realize Adrien was laughing so hard into his pillow that tears were forming in his eyes. 

__

But as the movie went on she caught more and more similarities. Blonde cinnamon roll gets imprisoned in an extravagant, but lonely, household with one parent. They yearn to see the world, always wondering about what lies beyond their cage...

__

Marinette would later claim that it was the sympathy provoked by this realization that caused her to nuzzle up closer to Adrien. Of course, he didn't seem to mind a bit, even taking her arm in his (purely for her comfort, she was sure). 

__

It turns out they weren't quite as immune to sleep as they had thought themselves to be and fell asleep not long before the end of the movie. 

__

 

_\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

 

__

Marinette woke up as she always did – with great reluctance. It helped that she had a very good night's sleep, and her pillow was amazingly comfortable. It was warm, and firm, and had a rhythmic, almost hypnotic noise to it. 

__

Still, she had to at least be up before her friends. She tried to rise, only to find that she was pinned down. Finally opening her eyes, she glanced over her shoulder to see a pair of arms latched at her waist. Her thoughts on this were pretty simple: 

__

_Huh._

__

Consigned to her fate, she lowered her head back down. It was only after she heard some suppressed giggling ahead of her that she opened to her eyes again. Blearily, she recognized the two blurs in front of her as Alya and Nino. They were peering in through the entrance to the pillow fort. The Alya blur seemed to be holding her phone in front of her, as if taking a photo or recording. 

__

This was strange. Even in her detached, tired state she knew that Alya only took videos of things she could use later – either as blackmail or as intrepid reporting. 

__

Still, she was tired and lowered herself back down to her pillow. Which she noticed was wearing her black and red Ladybug colors, excluding the pink text that she couldn't quite read. _I don't remember us having a Ladybug pillow._

__

This was a great mystery that had to have a good explanation so she decided to examine her pillow. Following it up, she discovered it had a face. A very pretty face. With blonde hair. And was Adrien's face.

__

Her blood was now on fire, face a solid red, as she screeched.

__


	6. Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the sleepover, and then our intrepid band of friends will go begin their research project. Or, at least, they will try.

Adrien had been in the middle of a reoccuring dream about a familiar black haired, blue eyed beauty who smelled of strawberries. The details were quickly slipping from his mind, but it had left him warm and fulfilled. In this half-awake state, he cuddled what he assumed to be his body pillow, content to drift back to sleep.

It was jarring, then, when his pillow stirred and shrieked.

Eyes flying open to meet the vibrant blue eyes of his friend (and apparently part-time cuddle pillow) Marinette, his mind raced to remember how this had happened.

They had been loudly proclaiming they weren't tired at all. Then he was lying upside down, listening to the movie rather than watching it. Then Marinette was lying against him, her head on his chest, asleep. Her warmth and the gentle droning of the TV had lulled him off to sleep. _Maybe I pulled her onto me?_

He was at a loss. _How do you react to something like this? Well, when in doubt, apologize._ “Marinette! S-Sorry! We must've fallen asleep during the movie.”

Marinette had in the meantime finally broken free of her stupor. Most likely because she had been sitting on Adrien's lap, stunned and completely red in the face. _It can't be healthy to blush that hard._ She bolted off him, to an unoccupied part of the pillow fort.

She finally managed to squeak out some words. “N-no, you are amazing p-pillow Adrien.” He blinked, processing what she had said. She squeezed her eyes shut, slapping a hand to her face. “Wait! No, I mean...”

Adrien's laughter cut her off. _Flustered Marinette is a very cute Marinette, he noted mentally._ He put a hand on his heart, and gave a warm grin. “Amazing pillow Adrien at your service, Mari.” In lieu of a bow, he tilted his head.

He heard laughter from behind his head. Tilting his head back, he saw the upside down forms of Alya and Nino. Alya had her phone out, and was likely recording everything. He waved to them and future viewers.

She put away her phone, still laughing to herself as she addressed the inhabitants of the soft fortress. “Imagine our surprise when we wake up and don't find either of you in Marinette's room. We come downstairs, only to be met with a couple of bakers afflicted with cuteness overload.” Adrien felt his cheeks warm. _So her family found us first. That will make breakfast awkward, even if they thought it was cute._

Alya continued. “I sensed a scoop, and I wasn't wrong. Now who wants to-” She stopped. She was staring straight at him. Adrien was confused. _What could she possibly be looking at... oh no._ He glanced down. He had forgotten, between the beginning of the interrogation and the shock of his wake up, that he was wearing the Ladybug-themed pajamas proudly emblazoned with “Miraculous Girl.”

That's when the laughing began anew. It was mostly Nino and Alya, but he saw Marinette, who had finally started to calm down, wearing a small smile.

Adrien pouted. There was no question in his mind that Alya had something similar – she was as big a fan of Ladybug as he was, and that was saying something. He turned onto his belly and crawled from the fort. Once out, he shakily rose to his feet. Since they had already caught him wearing it, he may as well own it. He held his chin up imperiously high. “You are just jealous that I am not scared of wearing my love for Ladybug so openly.”

This sent Nino into another fit of laughter, but Alya simply crossed her arms and glared at him. It didn't last long before her glare split into a grin. “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Agreste. I bet you just weren't looking at what you packed. I remember the rush you were in.”

That was definitely true but he wouldn't give Alya the satisfaction. Marinette had sneaked out of the fort and started tearing it down. Adrien absently began to help her, his stand off with Alya forgotten. Towards the end, their hands accidentally brushed. This caused Marinette to blush and stiffen. “Blankets! Into closet! Doing that!” She spat out while grabbing all the blankets that had collected, rushing out of the room.

Adrien frowned. He had been making good progress getting Marinette out of her shell, or so he thought. _I hope she doesn't go back to being nervous around me again._

Before he could dwell on it, they heard Sabine's voice call them from the other room. “Kids! Come eat breakfast.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

From what Adrien could tell, there was an unending number of perks to living in a bakery. Not the least of which is fresh bread everyday for breakfast. He was quite content with his strawberry jam-loaded toast and hot chocolate.

In fact, he had been so absorbed with the simple pleasure of strawberry that he hadn't noticed a giant of a man creep up behind him. He would continue to not have noticed had Tom not placed both of his huge hands on Adrien's shoulders, causing him to jump. _Man,_ Adrien thought to himself, _with how stealthy he is, maybe HE should have been Chat Noir._

From behind and above Adrien came the gentle but loud voice of Tom Dupain. “Sleep well last night, Adrien?”

Adrien froze. He remembered suddenly that Alya implied the bakers had found them first. Panic took control first. _Is this how I die?_

He fought down the trepidation and responded honestly, tilting his head back to look Tom in the face, “The blanket fort was really cozy. I slept better than I have in a long time.”

Marinette had just returned as he began speaking. She had begun preparing her breakfast, only to throw a concerned look his way.

His focus was back to Tom, who had a twinkle in his eye and the faint hint of a smile. He roughly patted Adrien on the back before heading back to the bakery proper.

He turned his attention back to his breakfast, which at this point was just a bit of hot chocolate. He took a sip as he tuned into the conversation his friends were having.

“Really? _That's_ the reason you chose Ancient Egypt?” Nino wore a disbelieving look as he addressed Alya. For her part, Alya had her arms crossed and look back with the familiar reporter fire in her eyes.

“All I have to go off of for past Ladybugs is the one that Pharaoh had mentioned fighting. I don't know if an akuma victim is a valid source, but that was clearly a Ladybug on that scroll. It isn't much, but I'm sure I can find more.”

Nino grinned, “The only reason we're doing Egypt is because _someone,_ ” he stopped to fix a stare at Adrien, “wanted to research cat gods.”

If that was how he reacted to Alya's rationale, he definitely wasn't going to tell him that his real reason for wanting to do this project was because if there was a Ladybug, maybe there was a Chat Noir. He knew precious little about previous Chat Noirs. Adrien wouldn't be surprised if Plagg had forgotten about them in favor of additional cheese lore.

Adrien admonished himself in his own mind. _No, that's mean. Plagg is a glutton but he is a softy at heart. Yet, that didn't change the fact that Plagg was reluctant to talk about past Chats._

His eyes suddenly widened as he remembered that he hadn't checked on Plagg yet today. He stood and excused himself from the table, taking his travel bag with him.

Once in the bathroom, he opened the bag to reveal a content cat kwami. He raised an eyebrow once he noticed that none of the great mass of camembert remained. _No wonder he looks so happy._

Plagg cracked open a green eye. “Finally remembered me, I see. Too occupied cuddling your 'just a friend,' I bet.”

 _Why was I worried about him, again?_ “And a good morning to you too, Plagg. Move over, I need my clothes.” Plagg pouted when his comment failed to elicit a reaction. He grumbled, but complied.

He floated out of the bag clutching what was perhaps the last chunk of camembert, watching his charge pull out his clothes for the day. The quiet didn't last long. “So much changes as time goes on.” His tone was conversational, casual almost. “Human courtship, for instance. Now I won't bother asking for gross details, but locked together in an embrace for most of the night is something pretty telling, yeah?”

Adrien fumbled as he was getting dressed, looking up at Plagg with a glare. His kwami returned it with an evil grin before he took a bite of cheese. “I told you, my heart belongs to Ladybug. Marinette is awesome and all, but I can't lead her on like that.”

“Didn't Ladybug say pretty much the same thing to you, kid?”

Adrien winced. He wasn't wrong, but he was sure he could win Ladybug over. _Who could compare to the coolness and charm of Chat Noir?_

“I'm just saying, kid, don't push aside what’s right in front of you in favor of what might be unobtainable.”

Plagg was quiet for the rest of the time it took Adrien to get dressed and ready for the day. Knowing it was going to be cold, Adrien had packed a heavier jacket than his normal over shirt.

He returned to the kitchen to find only Nino remained there. He had his headphones over his ears, head moving to the beat. When Adrien sat down across from him, Nino flashed him a smile. “Hey, dude! The girls went to Marinette's room to get changed. Now that you're out of the bathroom, I can throw on some fresh clothes too. Here, have a listen to this mix I've been working on while you wait.” He passed his headphones and smart phone over to Adrien, who picked up where Nino left off.

As he sat alone in the oven-warmed kitchen listening to his friend's music, Adrien was at peace. It warmed his heart to experience the fruits of his best friend's passion. Nino's music talents were improving, and he hadn't given up his movie aspirations just yet. Adrien took every opportunity to encourage him, and only occasionally did he have to resort to words. Most of the time it was offering to listen to a playlist, or read over a draft of script. It may not have been his hobby, but he would be interested in it for Nino's sake.

Adrien, despite the awkwardness of the morning, didn't regret anything to do with last night. If anything, he was happy just to know that Marinette shared his movie interests. He would definitely have to come over more often – movies are so much more fun to re-watch with friends.

It was in the middle of this thought that Alya and Marinette returned. They seemed to have the same idea he did, and were sporting warmer clothing.

Caught in the middle of his musing, he paused the music and took off the headphones. “Marinette?” She looked up at him. “Do you mind if I come over again soon? I'd like to watch more movies with you.”

A barely noticeable blush crept onto her face, but she responded with a level tone. “Sure, of course! We can talk about it later.”

Adrien bobbed his head, looking back down at the playlist. He was oblivious to the conversation between Alya and Marinette that was being held solely in glances. He looked back up as an idea occurred to him. “Okay. Do you want my number so we can plan it over text?”

She choked on air, but nodded. He dictated his number to her, and received a text back immediately, adding the number to his contacts under 'Mari.'

A few minutes later, Nino was back out and they were ready to head to school.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Marinette didn't know how she made it out of that morning alive, but she pulled it off. Waking up in Adrien's arms would be a memory she cherished for a long time to come. And she officially had his number now! _Well, I had it already, but he has **officially** given it to me. Now I can text him without raising unfortunate questions._

She unlocked the school doors for her classmates, letting them in and entering herself after them. She was glad her position as class president afforded her enough trust with the principal to be allowed in even when it was closed for Sunday.

They found their way to the library and quickly made themselves at home. While the boys hadn't gotten a lot of research done, they did have a few books and plenty of websites ready to be skimmed. Nino set up a small speaker for his phone and started playing music for them.

Alya was looking more frustrated as she browsed her laptop, frequently looking at her electronic pad as well. Curiosity got the better of Marinette and she looked at the pad. On it was a picture of the Ladybug from the Egyptian scroll, zoomed in to take up the entire screen.

Her glances were noticed by her best friend. “Seriously! You'd think the history books would be more open with the existence of actual SUPERHEROES.” She placed her forehead on the table as she continued. “So far, all I've got to go on is that scroll and what an akuma victim had to say.”

Marinette thought back to when Alya had dragged her to the Louvre to ask the resident historians about the figures in the scroll. All they had told her was that she was considered a powerful priestess of the time, attended to by celestial spirits _(or perhaps just one spirit)_ but nothing else was known. She patted Alya on the back sympathetically before returning to the book she had in front of her.

Adrien gave a half smile. “At least we have plenty of information for the rest of the project.” He'd already begun taking notes in his clean and flowing handwriting. Alya simply groaned as she raised her head slightly.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

Two hours passed in a comfortable silence (excluding the music) when they were stirred from their work by all the lights had going out. Illuminated only by the glow of their electronics, they looked around in a daze.

Nino spoke first. “Did the power just go out? I don't remember a storm in the forecast.”

Marinette looked out the window, only to find that it was pitch black. She couldn't tell if that was due to a blockage or a lack of light outside. Approaching the window, she tried to open it only to find that it wouldn't budge.

She was about to run and check the doors when they heard a sound like thunder and the clanging of metal on stone. Nothing could be made out in the darkness.

Then the darkness was pushed aside by a glowing white blade, held up by a man in full armor and wearing a cloak. Marinette sucked in a breath. Her thoughts were a rough jumble. _Truesight! Here! Why?!_

Alya was the first to recover her wits. True to form, she was immediately stepping forward, phone held forward to catch video of Truesight. “Bright Blade! You have captured the public's attention since your duel with Ladybug and Chat Noir! Can I ask you some questions?”

Whatever his reasons for being here, Marinette was sure that being interrogated so enthusiastically was not what he expected. He actually took a step back before responding. “Did you just call me 'Bright Blade'?”

Alya's momentum stalled. She shrugged. “That's what they call you.” Her eyes flicked to the glowing sword. “It seemed fitting.” Her energy returned in force as she asked her next question. “Did you want to set the record straight?”

He snorted. “I am called Truesight. Is there a reason you are holding that device towards me? It feels like you are taking aim.”

Her next words were more subdued, more to herself than directed at Truesight. “Device? ...Is that costume for real?” More loudly, she said, “Are you-”

He waved off her next question. “I am not here to be interviewed, but rather to protect you. There is great danger here.”

That got their attention, although Marinette suspected this might be the case. Her instincts were screaming at her about danger. She asked, “So it is an akuma then?”

To her surprise, he shook his head. “No. This is the Old Foe. Don't worry – I will get you through this, my children.” He motioned to their things on the table. “Get packed, we should be on the move. They'll be looking for us, I'm sure.”

None of them made a move. They exchanged uncertain glances. Truesight sighed. He spoke quietly, a pleading whisper. “I understand your hesitation, but you must listen to me. I swear that I mean you no harm. Please.”

Marinette took the initiative and began putting her books in her bag. The others followed, some more hesitantly than others.

Truesight had made his way around to where Alya had been sitting. His eyes were drawn to the pad with the image of the Egyptian Ladybug. One hand still occupied with holding the glowing sword up, his other lifted his visor and brought the image closer to his face.

It took her a moment, but she finally placed the emotion he was showing – wistfulness. Nostalgia.

Teasingly, Alya asked him, “Someone you know?”

He laughed. “Of course. I _did_ choose her to bear the ladybug miraculous, after all.”

There was a silence like a record scratch.

Truesight hummed obliviously as he finished staring at the picture, placing it back down on the table.

Alya shifted from stunned to amused. Laughing, she spoke. “No way! I don't believe that one bit.” She grabbed the pad, glancing at the Egyptian Ladybug before she turned it off and put it away.

He shrugged. “Suit yourself. Are you all ready?” Nobody said anything, but the table was cleared. He seemed undeterred by their lack of response. “Good. Lets go.” He moved towards the entrance.

Marinette was the closest to the door. Once she was the only one who could see his face, he grinned and winked at her. He closed his visor immediately afterwards. She felt her blood run cold. _Did he know?_

They exchanged glances once he had passed them all. Nino whispered, “Dudes, I know this sounds weird but I'm getting a good vibe off this guy. I think we should go with him, at least until Ladybug and Chat Noir get here.”

Marinette winced. _This will be up to Chat Noir, then. I won't be able to sneak off without one of these three noticing._ She noticed Adrien look gloomy. As Nino and Alya headed out after Truesight, she grabbed his arm. “I'm sure Chat Noir will be here soon, Adrien.”

Strangely, her mentioning his favorite hero didn't seem to console him much. He sheepishly smiled. “I dunno, I think Ladybug might show up before him.”

 _I definitely have, for all the good it has done._ “Yeah, maybe?” She laughed nervously, and they followed after their friends.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

The halls were not what they remembered – there were turns that didn't exist previously and the halls were much longer. They were shadowed, even when light shone directly on them. Only the light from the sword seemed to push back the darkness fully. This led to the band of friends sticking close behind Truesight, despite their initial hesitation.

The echoing of four pairs of shoes and the metallic clicking of boots on stone were the only sounds to disturb the quiet for some time. Marinette knew her friend well, and could read the expressions she wore clearly. She watched Alya's face shift from bothered to conflicted to determined.

She ran up to Truesight's side. “Say I believe that you knew the Egyptian Ladybug-”

“Amunet.”

It had been a quiet correction, but after the silence it was almost deafening. Alya blinked before she mustered a response. “What?”

He gestured animatedly while he spoke. “You keep saying 'the Egyptian Ladybug.' But there were several of that description. The one on the device was the best of them – Amunet Sekhmeti, who was the third Ladybug ever chosen.”

Alya mouthed the name in awe. Marinette remembered some of her research. “Wasn't Sekhmet a goddess of destruction?”

Truesight laughed. “Aye, that she was. It was hilarious – to me – that the bearer of the miraculous of creation was named after the opposite and gods know that I teased her about it relentlessly.”

Adrien perked up. “If there was a Ladybug, was there a Chat Noir?” Truesight scoffed, and Adrien seemed to deflate a little. Marinette was about to tell off Truesight when he spoke.

“Kid, all the miraculous were active – the bearer of the black cat miraculous included. It was a dark time when the miraculous were made.” He tapped a gauntlet covered finger to his visor. “Though, interestingly, Amunet was also the first to retire by choice.”

Suddenly it was as if Marinette had all her thoughts bottleneck as questions flooded her mind. This was more information that she had received on past bearers in the last year of talking with Tikki and Master Fu.

Nino cut through the fog of questions with one of his own. “Woah woah, what do you mean the first to retire? What happened to the other two?”

Truesight stopped walking, crossing his free arm across his chest as he bowed his head. He continued walking after a moment of silence. When he spoke, it was barely above a whisper. “It was a dangerous time.”

A keen wailing echoed throughout the halls. It was an unreal noise, like the whirring of a broken machine blended with the howling of an animal in pain. Only Truesight seemed undisturbed by the noise. If anything, he stood taller, his sword held out more forcefully.

It faded away, and nothing followed it to them.

Truesight began walking again. “We should keep moving. If we stand still for too long, they will sense us more clearly.”

They reluctantly began plodding after him, less confident than before. But fear wouldn't deter Alya. “So. Amunet? What can you tell us about her?”

“Stubborn as all hell. Wit like a lash. Strong sense of right and wrong. She came from nobility and was stuck-up for a time, but the Chat Noir of the day balanced her out nicely.” He spared a glance to Alya. “He was from the laborer class you see. Gave her a wider perspective. Anyway, her unique position as well respected noblewoman and beloved defender of the kingdom made it so she couldn't be ignored. She got after nobles for abuses of power and took care of the downtrodden.”

The eagerness in his voice sharpened to disgust. “That all came to a head when the Pharaoh decided to delve into necromancy. He raised an army of mummies as his grief at his lost wife took over.”

He seemed to calm down. “We won, of course. But killing the Pharaoh made the state... unstable. Amunet and Nakht gave me their miraculous not long after. She said, and I quote, 'My people need a leader – not a hero.' I wished them the best, and sought out new bearers.”

She only barely heard Alya speak in a reverent tone. “So it was all true then...” Raising her voice, she asked Truesight, “So Nakht was...?”

“Chat Noir? Yes.”

“How did they react to finding out who Ladybug was?”

“There was nothing to react to. You must understand that the miraculous bearers of the time were more like elite soldiers than the lone heroes of today. Their identities and abilities were well known, all the better to give people hope.” He sighed. “Perhaps fitting. The enemy of the day was from beyond – the enemy of today is from within.”

Before he could explain further, the wailing was back, but this time right on top of them. Everyone whirled around, trying to find the source. Marinette gave a startled yell as she spotted it.

The creature reminded Marinette of those times when she was younger, baking cookies. They would put out the dough and cut them into shapes. But when they were pulled out of the oven, they were bloated and distorted. It was only because she had known the shapes she used that she could tell what they were supposed to be.

But this shadowy monster that glistened like oil in fire light? She couldn't tell what it was and she had no desire to find out. The best thing her mind could compare it to was a snake, if only because it was elongated and it's jittery, slithering movements reminded her of them.

In an instant, the white sword with it's bright glow descended on the monster. The light failed to push back its darkness, but the crystal sunk deep into it. The beast flailed, lashing out at Truesight, but he had kept his distance and the beast was pinned to the floor. It crumbled and soon dissolved into black dust.

Truesight flicked the sword, getting the powdery substance off it. He turned around and continued walking down the hall. He grumbled. “I suppose the enemies of beyond are making a comeback.”

Nino took his girlfriend's hand. “I'm sure Ladybug and Chat Noir will be here soon.”

“I certainly hope they won't be. I haven't yet had the chance to teach them about these monstrosities. Attacking a foe blindly is a good way to get themselves hurt.” Truesight hadn't bothered to turn around, too busy looking down two corridors as they reached a crossroads.

“If it isn't safe for freaking Ladybug and Chat Noir, then what about us?” Nino continued, getting irritated.

“My advice is simple: don't attack them. They will be mostly focused on me anyway.” Truesight had raised a hand to each of the hallways, as if putting his hands up against the warmth of a fire.

Adrien spoke up. He had spent most of the trip looking thoughtfully at the floor, if his frown was any indication. His words carried a sharp tone to them, perhaps sharing Nino's irritation. “Why you? If they act like animals, wouldn't they go for the easiest prey?” He winced at his own words. None of them liked thinking of themselves as 'prey.'

“They are drawn first to magic and then to will. I have both in abundance.” Somehow he decided on a path. Marinette began to notice the shadows deepen and shift in the corners of her eyes.

She voiced her concerns. “Truesight? Where are you taking us?”

“To the core. Where the Old Foes are seeping into this world.”

That... sounded worrying, but they did need to stop this. She felt vulnerable outside of her costume and the protection it provided.

Again, Alya pressed for information. “Why here? Why now?”

“You ask a lot of questions. Perhaps you already have some of the answers. Tell me: Do akumatizations happen frequently here?”

Marinette frowned as she remembered that almost all her classmates – and other students – had been akumatized, many of them inside this very building.

Alya simply nodded, perhaps remembering her own akumatization.

“The dark magics that were used to do so have left a mark on this place which drew them here. Eventually, their weight of numbers wore thin the boundary and allowed them to push through. As for the why right now, that was more likely chance than anything.”

They pressed on in silence, the weight of the shadows putting a damper on any other conversation.

Eventually, Marinette perked up when she recognized a rhythmic, pulsing sound that seemed to reverberate out of the walls themselves. She wasn't the only one to notice, if Adrien's eyes squinting into the shadows was any indication. He seemed... twitchy, and a bit out of it.

She put a hand on his arm. He jumped slightly, eyes widening as he turned to Marinette. He quickly calmed down once he met her bluebell eyes. He smiled, a nervous giggle leaving his throat. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry! After seeing that monster, I was thinking the shadows looked, I don't know, hostile or something.”

A faint smile pulled at her lips. “It is all so strange, isn't it? It is like stepping right into a horror movie.” She shivered. _I hate horror movies._

Apparently Adrien remembered this as well, if his frown was anything to go by. He reached across to her opposite shoulder and pulled Marinette into a half-hug. He spoke in a whisper to the stunned girl. “We'll be okay, Mari. Truesight seems to know what he is doing.”

She wasn't that scared (for some reason, a scary movie was worse than a real life scary situation to her), but if Adrien wanted to take the opportunity to comfort her anyway, well... She wouldn't complain.

Adrien eventually let go, far too soon for Marinette's liking. They had stopped at a double door, one that in the normal school would lead into the courtyard. He slowly opened the door.

It did lead into the courtyard, but it was as if night had fallen. This, despite the insistence of her phone that it was only eleven in the morning. A blue-glowing, ragged circle pulsed in the same rhythm of the walls and shadows swirled around it like a whirlpool. Unease gripped her heart.

Truesight spoke over his shoulder. “Stay close to each other, and stay back here. Once I seal that portal, there will be some backlash and I don't want any of you getting hurt in it.”

Before they could protest, he was charging across the open field, sword held aloft in both hands.

The shadows burst into life. All of them shared the oily sheen of the first, but their forms covered every sort of creature that crawled, slide, and skittered. With their amorphous shapes, it was hard to tell where one began and another ended, but she guessed there was about a dozen of the creatures.

The sword flashed and the creatures howled, chitinous appendages sheared off as he rushed past them. He was a few feet from the portal when a shadow leaped onto his back, making him fall to the ground.

Marinette felt a surge of confidence propel her forward, grabbing loose rocks and pelting the creature. Alya shouted her name, but she ignored her friend. She wasn't about to stand by and do nothing!

She rethought her strategy when a rock hit the thing in the... head? The 'head' shook and a toothy maw split open and hissed like a snake. On dozens of legs it bounded forward, towards Marinette.

An errant limb from the creature sent her tumbling. As it came closer to her, rocks from behind began pelting it. Its forward progress slowed under the hail of stones and it began hunching away, shying away from the barrage. She looked behind her.

Alya bared her teeth and she could swear she could here Alya growling from here. Her red hair formed a frizzy halo around her head as she madly reached for stones on the ground between every throw.

Nino's face was set in grim resolve. She was unused to seeing such a serious expression from her friend. He held several stones in his offhand, waiting to time his throws just right.

And Adrien was making his way forward, low to the ground as he added to the fusillade. He was reaching for Marinette. She grabbed Adrien's hand and they retreated back to the entrance.

They heard the sound of shattering glass and the rush of air. The shadows evaporated into normal dark spots. All that was left of the monsters was the rapidly fading hisses and howls echoing of the walls.

Near where the portal had been, Truesight stood with his sword blade buried halfway into the ground, still gripping the hilt with both hands. He pulled it out and began to wipe it off. As he did so, he walked nonchalantly towards them.

A gauntlet grasped Marinette's shoulder. He spoke with a mix of pride and exasperation. “I appreciate the assistance, lass, but you shouldn't have done so. That was damned risky and my armor ought to have held up fine.”

He looked at the rest of them, nodding appreciatively. “You have a good set of loyal friends, as well. And my apologies, but I don't think I caught your names.” They introduced themselves, and Truesight bowed to them. “It was a pleasure to fight alongside you all.”

He hummed in thought. Abruptly, he turned around and headed towards the doors. “The danger has passed, so you can get back to what you were doing.” He sheathed his sword for the first time since arriving.

Alya grabbed his arm. “Could you walk us back to the library? I'd like to ask you a few more questions before you leave.”

He seemed to mull this over. “Hmph. I suppose it is better than slinking back into the alleys to nap. Very well.”

Alya's confusion showed on her face. “Alleys?”

“I just got here a few days ago, and Ladybug and Chat Noir are hopefully still working on my living arrangements. Until then, I am a vagrant.” He cleared his throat. “But my woes are not what you wanted to ask about?”

She shook her head. “I was actually hoping you'd tell me more about Amunet...”

For the next few minutes, Truesight regaled her with stories about the long ago Ladybug. Marinette listened in awe at the exploits of the past bearer, with nagging worry at the back of her mind. _Why hadn't Tikki shared any of this with me?_

Eventually, Truesight got up to leave. Before he did so, he asked, “Could one of you show me the way to the bathrooms?”

Adrien volunteered, and returned without Truesight in tow.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

Truesight followed behind Adrien. Once they were out of earshot of the rest of the group, he struck up conversation with the blonde hero. “So, the model Adrien Agreste, whose face I have seen plastered over the city, is also Chat Noir. Very interesting.”

Adrien paled and whirled around to face Truesight. “How did you...?”

A chuckle answered him. “Like I said, the memory charm doesn't affect me. Don't worry – it won't be easy for anyone else, and your secret is safe with me. I swear it.” They had reached the bathrooms and Truesight walked past him into the stalls.

Adrien was nervous. He didn't think that the swordsman was dangerous, but the idea of him finding out so quickly shook his faith in the mask he wore. _How much protection from prying eyes could it give? What if someone on the streets saw through the magic?_

Then he remembered Truesight's comment about sleeping in the alleys. He felt pity for him, but it reminded him that he had a message from Master Fu. _Well, at least this saves me the trouble of finding him..._

Truesight emerged from the bathroom. Adrien was sitting on a bench and called out to him. “Hey, Truesight! Before you leave,” he walked over to the tall warrior, speaking in hushed tones, “the Guardian told me that you can meet him at this place tomorrow. Ladybug and I will head there in the evening. Now, you can get there from here by...”

After giving directions, Truesight nodded and clasped Adrien on the shoulder. “Thank you, lad. I'll see you there tomorrow, Adrien Agreste.” He paused as he turned away. “And Adrien? Marinette seems like a nice girl. I can see why you are so protective of her.” He chuckled at Adrien's sputtering and walked away.


	7. The Second Lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir meet with Master Fu and Truesight to plan their next move and learn from Truesight.

“After all that hard work! All we got was a _15_!” Alya gestured wildly as she vented to her project partner. They had just gotten out of school and were making their way to the park.

Marinette didn't think that it was too bad. A 15 was a pretty solid grade, especially when they took into account that their main source was Truesight. They had no reason to think he was lying, but his claim of having been present for the events sounded a bit far-fetched - especially if you hadn't listened to him talk about it like they had. Alya, however...

She bit back a smile and decided to play along with her friend. “And if you were grading it, what would you have given us?”

“For such ground-breaking research into the very origins of the beloved Ladybug? A twenty would _barely_ suffice.” Marinette giggled at her friend's exaggerations. A few stories about an early Ladybug weren't that revolutionary. Although... there wasn't that many tales about previous Ladybugs at all. _Maybe this_ could _change things_?

“They should have graduated us on the spot and sent us straight to the Louvre. We're basically doing Alix's dad's work for him.” Marinette didn't bother holding back, and was fully laughing now.

Alya plopped down onto a bench. She draped her arm over her face and leaned back. “But no. We are banished to the realm of 'good, but could be better.'” She peaked a glance at Marinette who had settled beside her with an amused expression. Alya snorted. “Ah well. A suppose a _bit_ of a reduction was in order since we couldn't name our source.”

Marinette nodded sagely. “I bet the Louvre would be just a bit insistent on where we got our 'ground-breaking' stories.” Alya sighed dramatically, but was interrupted by the both of them breaking into laughter.

After the giggles subsided, Alya gave a sly look towards Marinette. “Did you have any plans for Wednesday of next week, girl? If you say yes, I'll take it personally.”

“Besides working on the jacket, no.” Between the events of the weekend and class today, the jacket remained purely in the design phase. Although, Chat Noir had told her that they were meeting with Master Fu today, so she _could_ stop at the nearby fabrics store and get stocked up...

She was stirred from her musings by Alya. “Good, 'cause Adrien is dying to hang out again. Nino says it took some begging and pleading with his father, but blondie should be in the clear.” Marinette felt a rush at this new information. _He wants to hang out again! I didn't scare him off!_ Out loud, she squealed in joy.

“Were you still up for hanging out with the girls at the pool this Wednesday?”

Marinette considered this. She would like to dedicate the day to the jacket, but she could use a pool break. She nodded. They shifted to small talk about their upcoming day out.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Plagg, what do you think they are talking about?” ‘They’ being Master Fu and Truesight. He had so far been unsuccessful in getting information out of his kwami. Though not by lack of persistence.

Adrien had rushed through his piano practice, Chinese homework, and tried to study for exams. His mind refused to focus, and he kept getting drawn back to the Ladyblog.

He was now pacing the room, shooting glances at the wall clock. Last night he had called Ladybug to inform her of the plan. 

_“What do you need, Kitty?” She sounded out of breath, as if she had just been exercising. Her cheeks were flushed, which was immediately obvious since her face took up the entire tiny screen on his baton phone._

_Curious, he decided to tease her first. “And a good afternoon to you too, Bugaboo. Did I call at a bad time?”_

_“Kinda, yeah. I had to make a dash for my room before I could transform.”_

_“That doesn't sound too bad.”_

_She laughed. “I was several streets away from my house, Chat. And it was raining. It was a mad sprint.”_

_A thought occurred to him. “So what you are saying is that you are in your room right now. He moved closer to his screen and tilted his head as if trying to see past his partner._

_Ladybug lifted an eyebrow. “You didn't call me just to fish for clues did you?” He could hear the faint menace in her voice._

_“Don't worry, my lady. I do have important news.” He became all business as he relayed the basic details to her. “I spotted Truesight and gave him the address and time. They wanted to speak to each other first, but Truesight was insistent that we make an appearance that evening.” She didn't need to know that he met with Truesight as Adrien. That might have been a strong hint as to his identity, and she wouldn't approve of that._

_Her eyes darted to the side, calculating. “I should be free by 1900 tomorrow, if that works for you? We can meet up on Master Fu's roof if you want to enter together.”_

_“I'd like that. I'll see you there.”_

A snort from a rapidly emptying camembert box drew him back to the present. “Knowing Truesight, he probably wants to hear all about the akumas we've fought. Not to mention finding out more about you two.”

“So you _do_ know about Truesight!” Adrien had settled on the couch near the table, eyeing his often uncooperative kwami. Plagg had been surprisingly tight-lipped about information concerning Truesight. “Can you tell me anything about him? What about those stories he was telling? Or -”

“Kid, you're going to find out in due time. We kwami have a long relationship with the guy, and trust me when I say he'll be more than happy to tell you everything.” Plagg scowled. “He will definitely talk your ear off if you let him.”

Adrien digested this. He latched onto something Plagg said. “'Long relationship'? Like... five thousand years long?”

Plagg shrugged. “I dunno. Probably? Time is hard to keep track of when you live as long as we do.”

Another reminder that, despite appearances, the kwami were very old beings.

“Anything you want to tell me about him before we spend the evening talking with him?”

“The whole evening?” He whined. “That's going to be so much work! You better get me some more camembert to make sure I've got enough energy.”

Adrien raised and eyebrow at his kwami's words. He knew that Plagg had gone longer with less cheese and Ladybug had told him Truesight extended their transformations. Still, he wanted to get on Plagg's good side to coax out the information he wanted. He hadn't miss the fact that Plagg had sidestepped his question. Adrien went to retrieve more cheese.

He returned with a fresh box, which got Plagg energetic again. Just as Plagg reached it, Adrien gently placed his hand on top of the lid, keeping it close. “Before you gorge yourself, I'd like you to answer my question.”

Plagg crossed his arms and his tail twitched in irritation. “Fine, fine.” He took a deep breath and spoke quickly. “He came from another world, founded the Guardians, and keeps coming back. Most of the time, he comes back to train kids. Sometimes it is because the Great Enemy is on the rise. It is generally desperate times if he is here.” He stopped, looking thoughtful. “And that's all I can say without getting too deep into Truesight's secrets. Now gimmie my camembert!”

Adrien limply slid his hand off the box. Plagg let out an excited chirp as he threw off the lid and threw himself on the stinky cheese.

_Great Enemy? Desperate times?_ “Plagg, what is the Great Enemy?”

Plagg's fur rose on end and he growled. Since he was barely the size of a newborn kitten, the overall effect was more cute than fearsome. Still, Adrien was awed because he hadn't seen Plagg this riled up before. “Monsters, in the most real sense of the word. They are rare these days, which makes that attack yesterday so weird. The good thing about having Truesight here is that he knows better than anyone about how to fight them. _He_ can fill you in on them.”

It wasn't much longer before they had to leave for the meeting. Adrien let Plagg finish eating undisturbed – he had a lot to think about, especially on questions to ask.

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Adrien didn't arrive early – or, at least, not nearly as early as he usually did when meeting Ladybug. He felt it would be weird to do so since they were meeting up to join others. He sat on the edge of a rooftop, legs idly swinging as he looked out onto the street below.

It felt out of place, meeting up not for patrol, but to see more people. Despite having known Master Fu for months now, he rarely made an appearance except in extraordinary circumstances. For all intents and purposes, it had been just Adrien and Ladybug.

But times were changing. In the last two weeks he had met with Master Fu three times – once for a refill on the magic cheese, once for the ritual, and once for arranging this meeting. That was more meetings than the previous three _months_.

He felt a strange pang of jealousy. It had always been just him and Ladybug, but now... Would they drift apart as they became part of a larger team?

A memory forced him to corrected himself. _Well, Ladybug, me... and Rena Rouge._ They had called in the mysterious third hero a few times recently. The battles were either solvable (if difficult) with just the two of them, or so intense that they couldn't leave to get help. 

Rena still wasn't a full time hero like him and Ladybug, who took back the fox miraculous after every battle. _Did she even count as part of the team, then?_

Ladybug landed just behind him. He turned around, flashing a cheeky grin her way. He abandoned his previous line of thought as his heart took over his thinking. He rose so he could bow properly to her. “Good evening, my lady.”

She acknowledged his over-the-top gesture with a smile and a giggle. “Hey, Chat. Ready for tonight? Tikki tells me it is going to be...” She waved her hand as she struggled for the right word. He could understand the feeling – he didn't know what to expect out of this either. “...enlightening?” She finished with the lilt of a question, as if the word didn't quite work, but was the best they were getting.

“As long as you are by my side, I know we will make it through.” He spoke with practiced ease, but some of his discomfort must have slipped through.

Ladybug cupped his cheek with her hand, and locked eyes with him. Confidence shone in her eyes, and it filled him. “Whatever gets revealed in there, we're still partners and best friends. Now, lets not keep them waiting any longer.” Adrien nodded and they sneaked into Master Fu's shop by the back entrance.

They made their way through the halls, curiosity piqued by a thumping noise, like something hitting the wall. It was slow enough that they didn't expect violence, but it was loud enough to attract their attention. They had their answer for this small mystery upon opening the door.

Master Fu sat in his usual spot at the low sitting table. Tea steamed from four cups on the table. A shelf along the wall held familiar armor. Master Fu was exasperated, grumpily looking forward and having the slightest flinch at every thump. The source of the noise was a tall, red headed man in the back of the room with his arm propping him up against the wall. He wore a light grey tunic and black trousers, a sword sheathed at his hip. He was slowly beating his head against the wall.

The two heroes stood still at the doorway, uncertain of how to proceed. Truesight – there could be no doubt that this was him – seemed to notice their presence and let his head rest against the wall after a final thump. His voice was slightly muffled by speaking towards a wall. “You told them nothing.”

Master Fu's lips pursed and tilted downward. Adrien - who had experience with such things - felt like he was on the tail end of a heated argument. “I told them everything they needed to know.” He took a sip of the tea at the table, and motioned the heroes in after he put it back down. They sat at the table and watched events unfold.

“The bare minimum.” Truesight's voice was an angry growl. He turned around, and Adrien could see dark circles around his eyes. “They know _nothing_ of themselves! Of the long history they are a part of!” He stalked over to the table, sitting down with his legs crossed. His eyes were closed as he took a deep sip of the tea, visibly forcing himself to calm down.

Eventually, without opening his eyes, he whispered. “Greetings, kiddos. There is _much_ we need to discuss.”

It was at this time that Adrien fully realized that Truesight was unarmored and was effectively in his version of civilian form. He took the opportunity to match the man they'd encountered already to the person before them now.

He had managed to grow an unkempt, short red beard in the time since their first meeting. His hair was long and pulled back into a ponytail that reached his upper middle back. His hands – which, along with his head and neck, were the only flesh to be seen – were marred with a random assortment of scars. He opened his eyes and caught Adrien staring. “Something the matter, lad?”

Adrien was caught off-guard. “Ah, it's just that it is weird to see you in civilian form. What do you want us to call you now?”

Truesight's face scrunched up in confusion. “'Civilian form'? What do you...” He glanced down, and realization dawned. He leaned back and laughed. “No, lad. Truesight _is_ my name. Well, a title.” His eyes glossed over as he struggled for the right word. “The best your language has is a ‘nickname’. It was earned during my travels, but it is what I am called. If you are asking for my first name-” Adrien saw affection in Truesight's eyes as he meet both his and Ladybug's stares. “-then I am Alric.”

Ladybug spoke up. “You said that we know nothing. What don't we know?”

His expression darkened. “The history of the Miraculous, their purpose, the depth of your powers, and anything to do with the Old Foes. Plus each others' secret identities.” Master Fu was about to interject when Truesight sighed deeply and held up a hand to stall any comments from him. “But that is the kwami's rules, not mine. I'll need to speak with them eventually, but for now, I'll start with me.”

He stood up, pacing around the room. “I am Alric Truesight. I hail from another realm, one of magic. My fate became bound with that of the miraculous, and together we pushed back the Old Foe. I return when I am called.” He stopped to examine the secret container of the miraculous. He ran a hand along the smooth wood and strange symbols.

Adrien began the questioning. “Another world?” His mind raced with the implications. “Where are you from? Are there others like you?”

He had an empty look as he turned back towards them. “The names – of my culture, of my gods, of my very _world_ – would mean nothing to you. I am the only one who came to this world, and there is no way back. We cannot expect aid from my distant home.” He slumped to the ground, back to his spot at the table.

Ladybug put a hand over her heart. Pity was in her voice. “I’m sorry you won't see your home again.”

Truesight gave a half-hearted shrug. “I was the one who answered the cry for help because there was nothing left for me there.” He returned to his seat. “But I would be lying if I said I didn't miss my homeland.”

The moments dragged on into a sullen silence, and Adrien felt the urge to change the topic. “What are the Old Foes?”

“Monsters. Pure magic that gets shunted into a material form as it seeps into reality. Usually, it takes on the shape of a creature that nearby cultures have in folklore. If there isn't enough consensus on a particular beast, then they become formless entities of shadow and terror, preying off the fear of sapient beings to gather strength.”

He took a big gulp of the tea before continuing. “Magic is their lifeblood, but there is precious little in this world, forcing them to stay relatively close to the hole were they spawned from… unless they seek prey.”

Adrien remembered him mentioning 'will' during the attack on the school. “I heard that they are also drawn to willpower. Why?” Ladybug shot him a strange look. He shrugged. “I saw it on the Ladyblog. Alya was present for the fight at the school.” And so was he, but Ladybug didn't need to know that.

Truesight smiled at their exchange. He scratched his beard. “How to explain years worth of magic theory to the uninitiated?” He snapped his fingers. “Ah! There are three components to spells: Will, mana, and lattice. Mana is raw magical power. The lattice is what the mana flows through. Imagine mana as water and the lattice as a canal.”

He paused in his energetic explanation, reaching for a gilded steel tankard near him. He flicked the side of it, and it rang out in a bell-like chirp. This reverberated within the tankard, but changed in pitch as if being filled. Truesight took a drink from it before continuing.

“Will is the most important part. It changes the very nature of the mana being used, converting it towards a specific type of magic. The monsters lack a form of their own, and so they seek out creatures with will.” His demeanor became grim. “They kill and devour them, to solidify their forms. Once they have done so, their bodies are set and no longer shift. Since all living creatures accumulate mana, this hunting can sustain them beyond their portals and wellsprings. Sapient creatures' life force is _especially_ rich.”

Adrien wasn't shocked at the realization that the monsters eat people. He had seen the shadowy beings and watched them go after Truesight. _And Marinette…_ His thoughts added. He shook his head at the terrifying memory of Marinette on the ground, a monster looming over her.

“Living creatures gather mana naturally? Despite mana being rare on our world?” Ladybug had spoken up, her eyes distant as she processed everything. He nodded. “Does this include plants?” She looked at Truesight, who nodded again. “Is that why the Guardians' magic is entirely through potions?”

His eyes widened and he smiled proudly at her deduction. “Alchemy functions better than other magics on this world. It is not something I knew much of when I came here, so the Guardians latched on it as a way that they could improve upon my work. Even the miraculous could be enhanced in this way.” 

He turned to Master Fu. “You said that you have a copy of the spellbook?” Fu nodded. “Good. I am glad that not all was lost.”

Adrien had a flash of inspiration. “Wait, can you read the spellbook? We've been having trouble translating it all.”

Truesight shook his head sadly. “No. They hid their secrets well. The Guardian script is unknown, even to me.”

Adrien wasn't about to let go of this train of thought. “But what about that blessing you talked about on the Eiffel Tower? The Flame Tongue?”

“The Blessing of the Flame Tongue, as the name suggests, is tied to my tongue. Since the tongue is symbolic of speech, this means that I gain knowledge of languages with an oral component. The Guardian script very pointedly does not have an oral version, likely with this weakness in mind.”

He felt his cat ears press against the top of his head. _Great. A dead end._

“Do you have other blessings?” Ladybug asked.

“When I left, three gods each gave me a physical token and a blessing, to honor my sacrifice.” He held up three fingers. “The god of compassion gave me my sword and the Blessing of the Silver Heart. It grants me a slight healing factor.” A finger was lowered.

“The god of heroes sent me this tankard-” He tapped the gilded flagon “-and the Blessing of Hope. The tankard fills with ambrosia, which has restorative properties. The Blessing burns away attempts at taking over my mind.” Another finger was lowered.

“Last, the god of knowledge gifted me this crystal-” He reached for his neck, pulling out a golden thread necklace. On the necklace was what seemed to be a well-cut clear quartz crystal. “-which allows me to contact those who have similar items no matter the distance. I have a few matching crystals that I can hand out, plus the magic is incorporated into the miraculous. The Blessing of the Flame Tongue you already know about.” The last finger was lowered.

Adrien was trying to absorb everything said so far, but it was difficult to take in all at once. Truesight seemed to catch onto this. “I think that is enough information for the time being. Let me fill you two in on my-” He stopped when Master Fu cleared this throat. “-our plans for the immediate future.”

Ladybug and Adrien watched expectantly as he continued. “I will be staying here, in Master Fu's home. He tells me that below this building is a fairly large room within an underground labyrinth. This labyrinth apparently stretches over most of the city?”

Adrien and Ladybug nodded. They were well aware of the famed mines of Paris.

“Good. I'll be making a training hall down there. What spare time I have I'll use to explore the maze so that I can move about the city undetected. Give me a few days and I ought to have it set up so we can begin your training.”

_Right, he did say he was going to train us, didn't he?_ Out loud, Adrien said, “What sort of training should we expect?”

“The first couple sessions will be me performing some tests to see where you stand on things. Then I'll tailor a regimen to what I discover. Expect duels, obstacle courses, and meditation.”

Ladybug cocked an eyebrow. “Meditation?”

“Aye. The powers of the Butterfly miraculous focus on the mind. Your suits can protect you from physical harm, but they lack mental protection. The meditations I have in mind ought to strengthen your will against such intrusions.”

He locked eyes with Adrien, who felt his face flush with embarrassment. “That would be great. It'd be _meow-velous_ if akumas couldn't brainwash me anymore.” A flicker of a smile appeared on Truesight's face as Adrien gave Ladybug a sheepish grin.

His lady simply smirked as she retorted, “It would be nice to not have to kick Chat’s butt anymore, even if it is cathartic.” She flicked his bell, dulling the sting from her teasing. “Is there anything else we need to cover? It sounds like you can contact us when you want, and we know where you are now. It is getting late, and we'll need to head home.”

Adrien blinked and looked at the clock on the wall. It was getting close to midnight. He puffed out his cheeks and let out a hiss of air. “Yeah, I have class in the morning.”

Both Truesight and Master Fu nodded. The latter spoke. “Goodbye, young ones, and good night.”

Once outside, Adrien reached for Ladybug's hand and gave it a kiss. “Till we meet again, my lady.”

She pulled it back with a faint smile and a shake of her head. “Good night, kitty.”

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

“Ugggghhhhhhhh.” So moaned the she-beast, Marinette the Barely Awake.

“Come on, Marinette! You can sleep in tomorrow!” Tikki had a point. Of course, it didn't make getting up early today any easier. 

She stuffed her sketchbook in her backpack after getting dressed, and walked into the kitchen to sit down for breakfast. Sabine was already sitting there, and Marinette kissed her cheek. “Good morning, mom.”

“Good morning, sweetie. Heading into class early?”

“Yeah, Alya is taking care of her sick sisters today, so I need to take notes. The big tests are coming up soon.” Marinette pulled out a bowl, filled it with milk and added chocolate powder.

Her mother seemed confused. “Why does that mean you have to go in early?”

“It is mostly to make sure I got up at all. Plus, it'll give me more time to wake up.”

“I see.” A long pause as she busied herself cleaning up. “How is Adrien doing?”

Marinette nearly dropped her slice of bread into her hot chocolate in shock. “He's, uh, he is doing good, yeah. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, I just wanted to keep tabs on your boyfriend.” She said with a wink.

“N-No! Adrien, he isn't-”

Her mother laughed softly. “I know dear, I'm just teasing.”

Marinette let out a sigh of relief.

“Not that I'm _opposed_ to you dating him, of course...”

“Moooooom!” Marinette whined.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

Marinette arrived at school early enough that she had the classroom to herself for a while. With no one to talk to, she pulled out her sketchbook and became engrossed in her latest design. Unfortunately, inspiration wasn't striking her today and she digressed with sketches of people she knew.

As the minutes passed, the world outside her sketches faded away. In this state of relaxation, she couldn't be blamed if, say, a certain blonde haired boy had managed to sneak up on her.

“Hey, Marinette. What are you working on?”

She jolted. The broken silence was just as startling to her as the identity of the speaker. “Oh! Adrien! I'm just, uh, just doodling.” It was at that moment that she realized she had been idly sketching her partner, Chat Noir. _Oh no. What if he thinks I have a crush on Chat?!_

“Woah! That's a really good drawing. This is just a doodle?!” His childlike joy at her art made her heart flutter, not just with affection like normal, but with pride. “Can I look at your other drawings?” He looked at her with pleading eyes, excited to see what else she had.

_How can I say no to that face?_ “Um, sure. Go ahead.”

He flipped back through the last few days of sketching until he reached her big batch of drawings from her walk through the park.

Specifically, he was looking at the pages of Chat Noir sketches. She looked away, fidgeting with her jacket. “Marinette... I didn't know you were such a big fan of Chat's.”

Something in his voice made her turn back towards him. She was shocked to see the glimmer of tears in his eyes. She spoke softly, gently placing her hand on his back. “Like I've said, what would Ladybug be without her Chat Noir? He is a pretty sweet guy and a good partner. He is courageous and selfless too - have you seen how he’ll throw himself in front of Ladybug without a moment’s hesitation? Despite all his grandstanding and puns, he really is an amazing hero.”

He smiled at her gratefully, sniffling. “He is, isn't he?” He dried his eyes, having successfully resisted shedding tears. He surprised Marinette by giving her a brief hug. “Class is going to be starting soon. Thanks for showing me your drawings. I really like them.”

She watched him take a seat, blushing at his praise, but still confused on his reaction. At least she'd have something to talk about with Alya tomorrow during the pool trip.


	8. Chat Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Marinette tries to have a day of relaxation. This goes about as well as you'd expect.

Just as Tikki promised, Marinette was free to sleep in this Wednesday morning. She still got out of bed with great reluctance, but at least this time she was well rested. With no Adrien advertisement to distract her from getting ready, she quickly packed her bag. She was out the door by ten. 

It was too far to the pool to walk, so she found herself on a subway, looking at her phone while waiting for her stop to come up. Out of habit she checked the Labyblog in the off-chance that an akuma had been spotted. Too many of her plans with friends had to be shelved due to a poorly timed attack by Hawkmoth. 

_Does he just sit in a dark room all day, waiting for someone in Paris to get sad?_ It wasn't the first time that thought had crossed her mind. Yet every time she did, there was a vindictive satisfaction in the idea that their enemy had no life besides causing trouble for them. 

She cleared her mind of thoughts about Hawkmoth as she arrived at her destination. Today was supposed to be a day off. It wasn't often she could hang out with all her girlfriends at once. 

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Apparently, she wasn't as early as she thought she was, since they had all managed to beat her there. Alya, Alix, Rose, Juleka, and Mylene had been talking among themselves just before Marinette's arrival. She only caught the tail end of the conversation.

“Some of my cataphile friends were telling me that they've spotted a medieval knight in the mines. I'd bet that's where that Truesight guy is hiding now.” Alix spoke excitedly. Marinette felt a brief rush of panic. _Would this bring unwanted attention on him?_ She fought it down by remembering that the people who delve into the mines of Paris tried to keep a low profile anyway. It wasn't likely that news reporters or authorities would hear from the cataphiles. 

_Except for a certain reporter…_

Alya laughed, but there was a calculating glint in her eyes as she responded. “It makes sense. How else could he get around Paris without being seen?” She tapped a finger to her chin. “I don't suppose your 'friends' could take me to where they saw him? I'd like a follow-up to my interview.” 

Alix grinned. “We'll see, Alya. But the mines can be a dangerous place and you know people aren't _supposed_ to go down there.”

Marinette could read her best friend well, and she knew she was about to make plans for an expedition. It was a mixture of concern for her, and anxiety over what would happen if she was actually successful that motivated Marinette's interjection. “Alya, I'm sure Truesight will be making more appearances. He seemed pretty eager to fight the last time we saw him. Plus, he'll probably start joining akuma battles.” She grinned. “And we all know you'll be present for those.”

Alya's face transitioned from slight surprise at Marinette's sudden appearance (apparently she was too caught up in hero gossip to notice her arrival) into an eager grin. “You know it, girl!” Everyone laughed, and conversation switched to tamer topics. 

With the last member of their party in tow, they crossed the threshold into the indoor pool. 

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

An hour later, after they had tired themselves out in the pool and simply wanted to relax, they shifted into the sauna. This gave them the opportunity to talk among themselves without worrying about being overheard.

“Damn, Marinette. Who knew you were so ripped?” Alix said, awe and a hint of frustration in her voice. She had a competitive streak to put Marinette to shame. She had spent most of the hour trying to beat Marinette at different pool games, without success. It came as a shock to everyone – most of all Alix – since none of them could know that one of her extracurricular activities included saving Paris on a regular basis. 

Marinette laughed at Alix's disbelieving expression. Alya spoke. “It doesn't surprise me too much, girls. Have you seen Marinette recover from a fall? I once saw he turn it into a front flip and end up landing on her feet. My girl is a clutz, but she is hella athletic.”

Mylene added teasingly, “I guess all that running around to get to late classes paid off, huh?”

Marinette pouted, which got a round of laughs out of everyone. She took the opportunity to change the topic. “So. Adrien.” More laughter and a couple of eye rolls. She spoke quickly to cut down on interruptions. “He saw my Chat drawings and got teary eyed and it was really weird.”

Silence descended as the girls considered this. Rose perked up first, a bright smile on her face. “He must really love your art, Marinette! He seems like such a gentle soul, the beauty of it must have been very moving!” She clasped her hands together and pressed them against her chest. She leaned into Juleka, overcome by the romance of it. 

Alix gave a more somber opinion. “I dunno. Maybe the stress of his life is finally getting to him, and it crops up at the weirdest times.” Marinette felt a surge of empathy for him. She didn't know much about his home life, but what little she had to go on was a picture of loneliness and emptiness. 

Alya shook her head, strands of soaked hair becoming freed from their bun confinement. “Girls! You are missing the simplest option.” Alya pushed her fogged up glasses further up the bridge of her nose. She continued with a lecturing tone. “We know Adrien is a Chat Noir fan. Chat Noir doesn't have as huge a fanbase as Ladybug. He might just be excited he knows someone else in that particular fandom as deep as he is.”

“I'm not _that_ into Chat Noir.”

“Said the girl who admits to drawing pages of him.” Everyone giggled. Alya fixed Marinette with a knowing look. “I can see the attraction. Skin tight black leather doesn't look half bad on the boy. Plus he's a hero, so you know he'd treat you right.”

Marinette blushed at the description of her partner. She'd be lying if she said Chat's constant flirting never affected her, but there was only room in her heart for one green eyed blonde. 

Alya snapped her fingers. “Ah! I almost forgot.” She turned to Alix. “About heading into the mines...”

Marinette cut in. “Alya, the mines are huge, plus it is dangerous. And illegal. I'm telling you, you're better off just trying to catch Truesight after an akuma battle.”

Her best friend seemed ready to respond, but Rose interrupted her. “Isn't it amazing? A real life knight in shining armor has arrived to help save Paris!” 

Juleka smiled at her girlfriend. Marinette thought to herself. _Huh. With her hair tied back, this is one of the only times I've seen both her eyes at once._ Juleka turned her face to the rest of the group. “Those shadow monsters that Alya filmed were super cool. Like something straight out of a horror film. And the akumas that have been sent out – ”

Mylene interrupted her, unsuccessfully keeping the tremor out of her voice. She shivered despite the heat. “Alya? Nino still planning that movie that we were talking about last week?”

The conversation switched to Nino and Alya's second attempt at a movie, and it drifted into more idle topics from there. When they finally left to get dressed in street clothes, they were all in high spirits.

Which lasted until about the time they stepped outside and heard the screaming.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Adrien was soaring over Paris. While there wasn't any immediate danger, he had been kept in the mansion all morning. When he finally was allowed time by himself in his room, he leaped at the opportunity by leaping out the window as Chat Noir. 

He loved the feeling of propelling himself through the air on his staff, free falling for whole moments, then pole vaulting forward again. The wind whipped around him and he mused that this is what real freedom must feel like. 

When his enhanced senses caught the screaming and other tell tale signs of an akuma, he was disappointed. Or at least he was until he remembered that this meant he would get to see his lady again. He darted straight towards the danger. 

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Marinette was directing her friends out of the area. She lagged behind the rest of them and none of them had noticed while running. From her place at the rear, she was the only one present who heard what the screams had been hiding.

The eerie sound of wind flowing through a reed, creating a haunting melody that wormed into her mind. Her legs went weak as she felt motivation and hope being forcefully drained from her. She was vaguely aware of being knocked over by a black figure, and of the whistling of projectiles flying through the air. 

Her senses began to return to her, enough to recognize that she was now flying over Paris. This caused her to panic for a moment since she didn't have her yo-yo, and grabbed the nearest solid object.

Which just so happened to be her grinning partner, Chat Noir. He yelled to be heard over the rushing air. “That's right. Hold on tight and I'll get you out of here.”

Not long after, he landed in an alley, where he gently put her down. He still wore his grin, but there was a strange look in his eyes that she couldn't quite place. “You should be safe here. Try to be more careful, alright?” He surprised her by running a finger along her cheek. He held the finger out and although it was difficult to see against the black, the shine on his suit could only be blood. “That was a close call. But don't worry – your favorite hero Chat Noir is going to stop that villain.”

Marinette only barely managed to avoid eye rolling. _I'm supposed to be fawning civilian Marinette right now, not his bantering partner._ She widened her eyes appropriately and looked up at Chat through her lashes. “Do you really think you and Ladybug will be able to handle it?”

“Of course!” He stated with surety. Then he cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck. “Although, if Rena Rouge were to show up, I wouldn't deny the help. I'd bet that's why Ladybug is late, anyway.” They heard a distant scream. “Sounds like my cue to leave. Stay safe, Princess.” He waved and propelled himself away with his baton. 

Once he was out of sight, she frowned to herself. Tikki floated out of her gym bag. “So the akuma is scary enough that Chat was willing to tell a civilian he could use help.”

“Yeah, looks like we better make his wish come true, Tikki.”

Tikki giggled.

Marinette realized what she said. Blush lightly, she added, “I meant the back-up! Come on, let's go see Master Fu. Maybe Truesight will be there too.” She texted Alya to let her know she was alright, and asked if she was in safe spot. Once Alya had let her know where she was (just as planned), she was off.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The fight was not going well for Adrien. None of his possible teammates had arrived yet, and without help he didn't dare challenge the akuma on his own. The akuma had transformed its victim as normal. In keeping with the ongoing trend, it had created a monstrous being.

It stood about twenty feet tall. It resembled a scarecrow in thinness, but was mostly composed of long reeds melded together. A particularly thick reed made up its head and neck, with its facial features simply being unchanging black holes. A six foot pole with holes at regular intervals rose from its back, producing its haunting melody. Its stick arms ended in sharp points. 

Simply being near it seemed to sap his fighting spirit, and he would be all the happier when his lady arrived. Just as he completed that thought, a flash of red and orange landed on either side of him. A genuine smile crossed his face. 

“Hey, Chaton. What do you have for us?” Ladybug asked as she spun her yo-yo, taking in the akuma. 

“It can make half-sphere stick cages, which it uses to trap people. It throws reed spears randomly. And its song has some sort of weird affect that doesn't seem as powerful when I'm around.” He took in a deep breath. “Boy am I happy to see you, Bugaboo.” He turned his head to Rena Rouge. “And it’s good to see you too, stranger.” He winked. 

Rena seemed even more excited than Adrien felt. “Alright, how are we going to kick its stick butt?”

“Chat, have you found its akuma?” Ladybug's eyes were already scanning the villain, likely in case his answer was in the negative. The villain in question was searching the area around it for victims. 

“Well, it is just a guess, but I think it is the big pole on its back. It looks a lot like a flute and it is the only thing that sticks out from the rest of it. Plus, that's where the music is coming from.”

Ladybug nodded, and Adrien could already see the gears begin to turn in her mind. As much as he would have liked to stay and watch his lady in action, the akuma was about to capture more people, and Chat wasn't about to let that happen. 

“Rena, can you block off those two streets? Chat and I will keep its attention.”

Once the civilians were safe from the villain, he rejoined Ladybug in fighting the akuma. He could get closer now that it's musical powers seemed to be even weaker with his friends nearby, but he could only get within arm's reach (its arms, not his) before it became unbearable. 

After half an hour of this, barely staying ahead of it and taking attacks of opportunity, Ladybug strode toward him. She called out for her Lucky Charm. 

Everyone present was surprised when a box of laundry detergent fell into her hands. Ladybug began looking around, and while he couldn't follow her gaze, he knew she had a plan from the way her eyes lit up. She began directing her fellow heroes to her plan. “Chat! Open that hydrant with your cataclysm. Rena! Close it in to force it over the hydrant.” 

Walls of flame erupted around the reed villain. Even ten meters away he could feel the heat, despite knowing it was an illusion. It continually backed up towards the opened hydrant.

After she gave them their instructions, she threw the box and broke it with her yo-yo while it was over the akuma. The blasting water foamed up the detergent. When they approached, the haunting music was silenced, unable to make a sound through the thick foam. “Now's our chance! Pin its arms and I'll break the akuma!”

Without the energy-sapping music, they could finally throw their full strength behind their attacks. The akuma was de-evilized quickly afterwards.

And now came the hard part.

“Oh come on, it wouldn't be _that_ ridiculous!” Chat whined.

“No, chaton, we are not doing a three way fist bump. Rena needs to go, now.” 

While Ladybug's back was turned, Rena grinned and held out her fist. Adrien smiled back and they quietly said, “pound it!” as they fist bumped. Ladybug glanced back but the two had split apart, whistling nonchalantly. 

“I look forward to patrol later this week, my lady.” He bowed deeply. Then he turned to Rena Rouge. “And it's always a pleasure to kick evil's butt with you, Rena Rouge.” A shrill beep warned him of his impending detransformation. “Until next time!”

They split apart, Adrien heading in an opposite direction to his teammates. He landed in an alley. He knew he was only seconds away from dropping his transformation, and so didn't bother with the phrase. After long seconds passed, he checked his ring in confusion.

“Don't worry, lad. Your ring isn't broken, it just didn't count on me.” A now familiar voice sounded from the other end of the alley. He spotted Truesight, who had just rounded the corner. _Was he there a moment ago?_ “I take it I was late to the battle?”

Adrien opened his mouth to respond, only to notice that Truesight had a loaded crossbow. It hung from a leather band across his chest and rested on the warrior’s right hip. The crossbow itself was made of an almost black wood, with silvery metal reinforcing it. 

Truesight's hand lifted from its resting position on the weapon to wave off any questions. “Don't ye worry about this, my boy. I am merely on the hunt. So the battle is over?”

Adrien recovered, though still curious about this 'hunt.' “Oh, yeah, we beat it. The akuma used a woman's despair at a ruined business to make her into a reed monster that drained hope from people. It was weaker around us, for some reason.”

Truesight chuckled. “Of course it was. Heroes are, at their core, figures of hope. I'm glad you two could handle it without me.”

“We had some help, but it-” He was cut off by the bells of Notre Dame. “Oh no, is it already four? Sorry, Truesight, I need to leave!” A crisp salute to Truesight later, and he leaped off toward home. With Chat's agility, he might be able to get there before his photoshoot was to start.

Being in such a rush, he didn't hear Truesight's surprised whisper as he stood alone in the alley. “Help?”

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The photoshoot – and everything that entails – ended at nine. Despite having just spent five hours at work, Adrien was bursting with energy. At some point during the monotony, he had decided that he would visit Marinette.

As her favorite hero, Chat Noir. 

He was overflowing with giddy energy at the prospect of seeing her expression when he landed on her balcony. He even had his excuse planned out – Chat Noir was worried about her after saving her from the akuma of the day. Being the upstanding hero he is, he knew he had to check up on her. He didn't know where to go from there, but he was sure something would pop up. 

“Kid, this is a really roundabout way to go visit your girlfriend.” Plagg's voice carried down from his bed on the bookshelf. The cat kwami floated down to Adrien.

“First, she isn't my girlfriend, she is just a good friend. Second, she'll love it! Chat Noir himself will be on her balcony. She'll like it way more than if boring Adrien showed up at her doorstep.” Adrien rubbed his hands together in excitement.

Plagg gave him a level stare. “I'm sure she'd like,” he held up his paws to make air quotes, while doing a terrible imitation of Adrien's voice, “'boring Adrien' far more than you think she would. But you've already paid my cheese bribe, so go nuts with your poor decisions.”

Adrien shot a glare at him. “Plagg! Claws out!”

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

After an eventful day, Marinette was looking forward to working on her jacket for Adrien. She was thankful that her injuries were healed by her ladybug restoration, otherwise her parents would have been even more worried than they were. Simply knowing that she had been in the area was tough for them. The fact that she had almost been injured would have been too much.

She had made excellent progress when she heard a knock. A glance at the clock showed it was very close to her parents' bedtime, so it probably wasn't them. She lifted the trap door, but saw no one. The knocking became louder, and this time she could pin the sound to the door to the balcony. With trepidation she went to poke her head out, finding Chat Noir crouched outside. 

She was too surprised to respond at first, and he grinned. “I know, I know. Take a moment to compose yourself. I _am_ a lot to take in.” He then had the audacity to strike a pose, sprawled out on the ground to be eye level with Marinette, who was still mostly inside.

That brought her back to Earth. Speculation on why he was here ground to a halt so that she could fix him with an eye roll. “What's up, Chat Noir? Don't you have heroics to be doing?” _No, he probably does not. There was already one akuma today and he isn't scheduled for patrol._

“Oh, but this is part of the heroics job! I am making sure that you are safe and sound. It was a really close call there today.”

_Well, he isn't wrong._ She found his concern endearing, but exasperating. “I'm fine, Chat. Thanks to you, of course. Ladybug's power even fixed the scratch on my cheek.” 

Chat nodded, then gave an exaggerated shiver. “Oh Purrincess, it is so chilly out here. Do you mind if I warm up inside before I leave?”

“Is that the line you use to sneak into all the young ladies' rooms at night?”

He blushed furiously. _So the charmer can't take his own medicine, hm?_ “W-well, it's n-not like that, I just, uh...” He was cut off by her laughter.

“It's okay, silly kitty, I'm just teasing. Come on in.” She had intended to politely turn him away, but he just looked so sad outside. Like a stray, really. 

She climbed down the ladder just as Chat swung into her room, landing on her bed. She turned back towards him to notice him taking in her room décor. Which prominently featured another famous green-eyed blonde.

His jaw dropped, clearly stunned, as he slowly turned his head over to Marinette. She could feel the heat rise on her cheeks. “They are for research!” She blurted out. “I like Adrien's work, I like fashion, Gabriel Agreste is my design role model!” She calmed down a bit, before taking in Chat's confused look. “Plus... He is a good person that I hope to become better friends with.” 

Chat's expression softened into a gentle smile. “Sounds as though you like him, Princess.”

“Yeah...” She said dreamily, before realizing what she could be admitting to. “Wait! Well – yes, but as a friend.” She smiled nervously, hoping Chat would give up this line of conversation. 

Thankfully, he did seem to let go of the topic. His gaze landed on the jacket. His green eyes lit up. Even in its unfinished state, it very clearly borrowed heavily from the aesthetic of his own costume. He looked back to Marinette, a wide grin on his face. He swaggered over to her and leaned in. “I didn't realize you were such a big fan of me, Marinette.”

She held her ground and pushed Chat back by his shoulders. “Down, kitty. I'm making this jacket for a friend, who is a big fan of you.”

“Oh? And can I ask who that might be?” 

“No, but it is the same boy that I mentioned to you the last time you were here. Remember? Back when Glaciator was after me?”

A cloud of sadness passed his face before it was covered by a smiling mask. “Yes, I remember that night. Did I tell you that I finally did get Ladybug to that romantic rooftop get away I showed you?” He splayed out on the chaise.

_Yes, you did show me it. Twice, as a matter of fact._ Out loud, she said. “No, you didn't. Good for you, Chat! How'd it go?” She sat down at her desk, one arm over the back of the chair. She was studying his features, looking for insight into how well he took rejection.

“Alas! My lady says that she is in love with another.” His voice was wistful, his expression distant. Then he flipped over so that he was lying on his stomach. This put him facing Marinette, and he locked eyes with her. “But I am a persistent cat, and I'm sure it is only a matter of time before she falls for my roguish charm.”

“And in the meantime?”

He settled back down on his back, hands behind his head. “Until that day, I will be her loyal friend. Even if we never get together, her friendship means the world to me.”

While she seriously doubted that he would ever displace Adrien from her heart, Chat's loyalty was sincerely touching. “And what about you, my honorary Ladybug?”

The nickname caused Marinette's heart stopped for a moment as she processed his words. Realizing that he hadn't figured out her secret, she asked. “Honorary Ladybug?”

He tilted his head back to look at her upside down. “Well, you were my Ladybug during that fight with the Evilistrator. And you remind me a lot of Ladybug – selfless, always helping your friends, courageous. Don't think I didn't notice that you only got caught by the akuma earlier today because you made sure all your friends were safe.”

Now Marinette was blushing from the praise. It was nice – if a bit scary – that someone noticed the Ladybug in her. 

“But, you haven't answered my question yet, Marinette.” He was pushing the chaise closer to her with his foot, stopping within arm's reach of her. He flipped over so that he was on his stomach again, head resting on the back of the chaise nearest to her.

“What about me, kitty?” She pet his head, just behind his ears. It was surprisingly soft hair. She started laughing quietly as she heard a soft purr emerge from his chest. 

“How did things work out with this mystery boy of yours?”

She leaned back and began fidgeting with her hands. “Well, we are talking more, and hanging out more. So that's a start. But...”

“But...?” Chat tilted his head. 

“...I haven't admitted anything to him yet.” She finished meekly. She sighed. “I wish I had your courage, Chat. At least then I'd know one way or another if he liked me back.”

“Don't worry too much about it, Princess. He would have to be an idiot not to like you back.” His voice, in contrast to his usual joking tone, was low and earnest. His eyes were distant.

Not for the first time, she felt remorse for Chat and how that whole situation went done. If the roles had been reversed, and Adrien had let her down gently, she wasn't sure if she would have been as composed as Chat had been. _Then again, I would have been composed up until I got home..._

She looked back to her partner, who was absently staring at the wall. He didn't talk about his home life much, but a year of friendship with him had given her some clues. An empty house and a distant father weren't something that she wanted to send him back to. Not when he was in this state. 

An idea popped into her head. “Chat?” His eyes flicked to hers. “Is there anywhere you need to be in the next couple of hours?”

He grinned. “Already trying to get rid of me?” He tried to play it off as teasing, but she could hear the disappointment in his voice. 

“The opposite, actually. I was just about to put a movie on while I worked on the jacket, and I wanted to know if you were going to stay and watch it with me. Although, be warned: It will be a Disney movie.” 

He seemed to light up at that. “That won't be a problem at all.” His tail began flicking back and forth. 

She held up a finger. “But be warned! We can't sing along, since my parents are sleeping.” His cat ears pressed against his head and his tail fell flat as he pouted, which made Marinette giggle. She got up and Chat tilted his head in confusion.

“I'm getting snacks, kitty. There should be a few croissants left, and I'll make us each a glass of hot chocolate.” _Maybe not the best for a late night snack, but he looks like he could use the comfort._

His tail resumed its low swinging as she walked down the stairs.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“You're in luck, Chat, there was some strawberry croissants left down-” She stopped as Chat quickly turned to her. He was standing over her desk, one hand behind his back. His face with flushed and he met her eyes with a panicked grin. 

“Chat...? What did you do?” She was more amused at his reaction than anything. He probably didn't break anything, since she didn't hear a crash. _Why is he so flustered?_

He scraped the ground with his boot and looked everywhere but toward her.

She set down the plate of goodies, which Chat Noir looked at longingly. His focus became fixed on her when she stepped within arm's reach of him. “Chat. Show me your hands.”

He brought his hand from behind his back to reveal that it had been snared by a pink box with white polka dots. She was stunned for a moment before she began laughing. 

Chat Noir pouted. “Why did your box eat my hand, purrincess?” 

“It is to protect the book inside. I'm feeling a lot more confident in my magic box now. After all, even the famous Chat Noir was no match for it!” She flicked his bell and laughed.

He tried to keep pouting but before long he was laughing too. As Marinette went to get the key, Chat looked at the box attached to his hand. “So what's so valuable that traps capable of beating super heroes are required?” 

“My diary is in there, with all my secrets.” She fished the key out of its hiding place and went to free Chat. He was looking a bit paler than he had before and seemed worried.

“I'm sorry! If I had known it was your diary I wouldn't have reached for it. I was just curious about what it was...”

She smiled and patted his head. “It's alright, kitty. Just don't do it again and we'll be fine.” She put the key in the lock and freed his hand. “Now, help me choose a movie.”

She walked over to her private collection of Disney movies, Chat right behind her. He eagerly scanned the titles after she pulled open the drawer. He whistled appreciatively. “That's an impressive collection there, Princess.” His eyebrows creased in confusion as he pulled a movie out. “'The Black Cauldron'? I don't think I've heard of that one.”

She gasped and snatched it from his hands. “That's it! We're watching this one. I know you will love it.” She held it up gesturing to it with one hand like it was a prize on a game show. “Fun fact – watching the villain of this movie when I was seven is why I don't like horror movies even today.” Chat was suitably awed as he stared at the dvd with childlike wonder.

“Put it in, put it in, put it in!” He bounced with excitement, Marinette laughing as she played it on her computer. As it started playing, she picked up where she left off on the jacket. Chat laid down on the chaise, the back of it near the laptop. Marinette was set up on her desk and angled herself in such a way that she could see both Chat's face and the laptop screen easily. 

In the opening sequence, when the Cauldron's powers where described, he spoke out of the corner of his mouth to Marinette. “You don't suppose that's Hawkmoth's goal too, do you?”

Marinette bite back a smile while she responded. “For some reason, I don't think an undead army is what Hawkmoth is after.”

And then she waited. Oh sure the beginning was nice and cheerful and all, but there was a specific part she was waiting for him to react to. It was the same thing that always scared her as a child, and sent her running into the arms of her papa. Who, of course, was the one who would be watching it with her – her mom knew better than to let Marinette watch it.

_Oh! Here's the shot of the castle, which means..._ She watched Chat Noir intensely while the Horned King made his first appearance. He retreated behind the chaise, eyes wide while the villain ranted. She stopped her sewing and placed a gentle hand on his back. He looked embarrassed as he glanced over at her. “I see why it had such an impact on you.”

She watched as Taran and Princess Eilonwy argued in the middle of the movie, the two splitting off in different directions. Chat spoke up, “This Taran guy has a lot to learn about how to treat his princess.”

“After that exchange, she probably doesn't want to BE his princess.” Chat Noir simply grunted in agreement. 

Marinette cringed with every appearance of the Horned King's face. She remembered sleeping in her parent's bed after watching the reanimation of his skeletal army. There was plenty of space since her mom had banished her papa to the couch. 

Chat was absolutely enthralled by the final fight, but after the movie was over it was clear he was just barely staying awake. She put down the jacket and pulled on his arm. “Okay, kitty. It is time for you go home. It is nearly midnight, and I don't know about you, but I definitely have class tomorrow.”

He allowed himself to be pulled off the chaise, but instead of falling to the ground in a heap he rolled into a crouch and stood up gracefully. _Show off..._

They reached the balcony and Chat stood on the railing, about to leap off. He hesitated before turning back. “Princess?” She looked up at him, curious about his sudden nervousness. “Do you... do you mind if I hang out some more later? I'll try not to bother you too frequently!”

She tried to resist, but it was fun having Chat around, and it was nice talking to him. “Alright, Chat. Try to keep it about as late as you were today so I don't have my parents walking in while you are here.” 

He nodded gleefully as he gave a small finger salute and fell backwards off the railing. He rose back up on his staff and was gone. 

She had a smile on her face as she watched him leave, and kept smiling as she got ready for bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I definitely did _not_ accidentally post last week's chapter again. Any claims to the otherwise are lies and slander.


	9. Vigil

The morning came far too quickly for Marinette's liking, but at least she was getting used to the shorter nights that came with her hectic life. She got up with minimal groaning only to meet the staring eyes of Tikki. She was unusually silent. 

Marinette yawned. “Is there something wrong, Tikki?” 

She shook her head. “I was just curious, Marinette. What was all that about last night?”

Marinette considered lying to her kwami, and say that she didn't want to turn Chat Noir down. But that wasn't really the truth, was it? She leaned back to lie on her back, staring up through the skylight as Tikki hovered over her face. “When he was out there by himself, it made me realize that we've never really gotten to just hang out as friends before. I've worked with him for over a year and I trust him with my life, but I barely see him outside of akuma battles and the occasional patrol. I guess... I just wanted to act like friends for once. Is that unfair to him? It feels like I'm lying to him.”

Her eyes had wandered during her admission and she looked back to Tikki as she finished. Her eyes were knowing and a smile played on her lips. “There is nothing wrong with being there for a friend,” she stopped to land on the pillow Marinette was lying on, “even though he doesn't know that you are Ladybug, he clearly still enjoys Marinette's company.”

“Thanks, Tikki. I'm glad I won't need to turn him away when he comes over next.” She glanced at the partially completed jacket. “And if he keeps behaving himself, I'll keep making good progress.” 

Tikki giggled. “You are going to rely on _Chat Noir_ to behave?”

Marinette joined in the laughter. “Yeah, that might be a long shot.” She began getting dressed for school. A glance outside at the snow convinced her to dress warmly. 

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Half an hour later, Marinette arrived at the classroom to find that most of the students were just outside of it. They were all standing together clustered near the door, though Sabrina and Chloe stayed near the fringes. Marinette found Alya and went to stand beside her. 

Addressing the group, Marinette asked them, “Is something wrong? Why are we all out here?”

Max pushed up his glasses and responded, “It is extraordinarily difficult to believe, but it seems we have a guest. Truesight has been sitting at the window nearest the front of the classroom.”

Marinette's heart stopped. _Truesight? Here? Why? Was he going to out me to the class?_

Markov chimed in, “He is wielding a crossbow of unknown composition and origin, directed out onto the streets below. It is exceptionally fortunate that the cold weather has discouraged pedestrians.”

Before Marinette could make a decision on what to do, Ms. Bustier arrived. She was surprised to see everyone not in their seats. She looked at the class with concern. “Is there something the matter?”

They explained the situation, and the notion of a super powered squatter in her classroom didn't seem to frighten or disturb her in the least. Instead, she marched into the room, motioning for her students to stay outside. 

Sure enough, Truesight had pulled up a chair to the window, a crossbow in his hands as he watched the streets below. His cloak was not resting on his shoulders but instead was placed on the back of his chair. His head turned at the sound of the door opening, but he otherwise did not move or speak. Ms. Bustier stood in front of her desk, facing Truesight. “May I ask what you are doing in my classroom?”

“Your classroom? My apologies.” He lifted his visor as he turned fully to her. “I had been hoping this room was empty, but if you are asking me to leave I am afraid I cannot comply. The runes are quite clear that sometime soon a monster will appear. I intend to slay it before it can do any harm.”

Ms. Bustier's hand reached her mouth as a shocked gasp left her. “A monster? Will we be safe?”

Truesight gave a reassuring smile that reached his pale blue eyes. “So long as I am here, I intend to direct any suffering onto myself. Your children would only be safer if Ladybug and Chat Noir were here personally.”

Ms. Bustier considered this. Truesight added, “I will avoid disturbing your schedule. I had intended to remain silent in any case.” 

She nodded. “I suppose we can work around you...” She turned around to face the students still outside the room. “Everyone? Please take your seats and we will begin class.”

As Marinette followed the crowd in, her eyes met Truesight's. He gave the faintest smile and a wink before closing his visor and turning back to the window. 

Once everyone was settled, they entered into Ms. Bustier's tradition of kind words. Students were called up two at a time to give a compliment to each other. 

The first set was tense, with Alya and Chloe being called. Alya went first, with gritted teeth. “Chloe! I admire how ready you are to communicate with your father.”

Chloe flicked her hair back. “Of course. Even if Daddy is the mayor, he always has time for me. Ahem.” She looked Alya up and down. “Your hair isn't as much of a mess as it normally is. Good job for finally taking care of yourself.” They walked back to their seats.

Ms. Bustier smiled uncomfortably and called up Nino and Sabrina. 

“It is super impressive how organized you are, dude! I don't think I've ever seen you get a late assignment, and you even keep your friends in steady time.” He spared a glanced at Chloe.

Sabrina nodded. “I enjoyed your DJ work when you went on that TV show. I know how impressive a task it is to get Andre to dance.”

“Thank you, both of you. Alix and Ivan, it's your turn.” The two walked up to the front of the class.

“I really like your taste in music, Ivan. Zombie Skull Crushers all the way!” She held out a fist to bump with Ivan, who didn't leave her hanging.

“I think it's cool how you use your fire for competition to stand up to people.” He narrowed his eyes at Kim, who was too busy gawking at Truesight to notice.

“Very good, you two! Finding common ground is a wonderful way to come together. Good job. Juleka, Kim, you two are up.”

Juleka rose immediately, but Ms. Bustier had to call on Kim again to snap him out of his reverie. He hurried to the front.

“You are seriously good with a guitar. You've got some mad shredding skills from what I heard!” Kim ended with a air guitar riff, earning himself some laughter from the class.

“It is impressive how hard you work at so many different sports. Football, races, and the swim team – I don't think anyone else in the class does so many at once.”

“Recognizing the unique skills of others is an excellent road to becoming better friends. Good job! Max, Mylene? Now it is you two.” 

Max stood facing Mylene, arms behind his back. “I find it fascinating how there is a high statistical likelihood of you helping anyone in need of your assistance, regardless of your fear of the situation.” 

Mylene accepted the compliment with a nod. “Which goes to show that your maths skills are head and shoulders above everyone else's. I haven't met anyone with as analytical a mind.”

“Very good! Each of us has talents that help define us as people, and we ought to celebrate these individual abilities. Nathaniel, Rose? Your turn.”

Much like with Kim, Rose had to be called on a second time as she was too busy watching Truesight to pay attention. Upon both of them reaching the front of the room, Rose immediately began speaking, as if unable to contain herself a moment longer. “Your comics are so amazing! You make them so quickly but so well!” 

He laughed nervously before responding. “Thanks. And your optimism really is infectious.”

Ms. Bustier nodded and allowed them to go back to their seats. “That leaves us with Adrien and Marinette.” 

A flash of panic went through Marinette, but she had spent the last turn mentally preparing for this. They stood facing each other. Marinette refused to let her affection silence her, so she started talking before nervousness could set in. “My favorite thing about you is your kindness and ability to see the best in people. You are always gentle with people and very patient when dealing with fans fawning over you.” 

He blushed lightly, a smile on his lips as he responded. “You took the words out of my mouth. Although it isn't too hard to come up with something else. For example, your confidence in most situations and willingness to defend others is something that I admire.”

Ms. Bustier nodded. “Kindness is always an admirable trait. Perhaps even the most admirable.”

As she went to her seat she noticed that Truesight had turned his head the slightest amount to watch Adrien and her. With his visor down, she couldn't even begin to tell what he was thinking. Alya patted her back reassuringly as she settled back into her spot. With everyone having stepped forward, Marinette assumed that class was now in session. Based on the rustling around her as people searched for notepads, she wasn't alone in that assumption.

But Ms. Bustier wasn’t done quite yet. She remained standing at the front of the class instead of stepping towards the blackboard. She turned to Truesight, whose attention was still outside. “Truesight?”

He turned slightly, to more easily look at Ms. Bustier. “Yes?”

She spoke with gentle authority. “If you are going to be in this classroom, it is only fitting that you follow our traditions. Please come to the front of the room.”

He raised his visor, revealing an amused expression, as he set his crossbow against the wall, bolt facing towards the ceiling. He stood in front of the desk, arms crossed and facing Ms. Bustier. 

“I'm not sure how well you were listening, but we will exchange kind words with each other to give a better start to our day. I'll go first.” She cleared her throat. “I appreciate the work that heroes like you, Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Rena Rouge do for the city.”

A flash of confusion crossed his face at the mention of Rena Rouge, but his face settled back into an impassive mask so quickly she wasn't sure if she had imagined it. He uncrossed his arms to gesture while he spoke. “And I appreciate the sentiment behind this exercise. Small acts of kindness are often the only difference between triumphant hope and the deepest despair.”

Ms. Bustier accepted the appraisal with a smile and nod. She gestured him back to his seat where he settled with his crossbow once again. She approached the blackboard and class began.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Lunch time came and the students began filing out. As Marinette started to get up, she pulled back down to the seat by Alya. She excitedly whispered to her, “Girl, you were almost right! All I had to do to get my interview was wait, but I didn't have to wait for an akuma to get it. Nino!”

Her boyfriend had been just about to exit the classroom with Adrien in tow. He stepped out of the doorway and back toward Alya. “What's up, babe?” 

“I'm going to stick around here. Could you take these ten euros and get me a panini from the Italian shop down the road? A coffee would also be nice.”

Marinette watched this unfold until she heard her name being called. She turned to look at Adrien. “Are you going to be staying here too, Marinette? If you are, I can get something for you while we are out.”

She nodded so quickly she almost hurt her neck before opening her purse. Tikki passed her one of her wrinkled twenty euro notes. Looking back up, she passed it to Adrien. “It's alright Marinette, I can-” She glared at him. Survival instincts prevailed in the boy and he took the note. “What do you want?”

“Um, what were you going to, ah, get?”

“Medium pizza, probably. They have a delicious house specialty. Across the street there is a smoothie place.”

“Could, uh, could you make it two, then, please? And a fruit smoothie?” With her order complete, Adrien gave a thumbs up and followed Nino out the door. 

Alya waited until they were gone before turning back to Marinette. “Impressive, girl. Your sentences are becoming almost normal around Adrien. And very assertive with paying for yourself too.” Before Marinette could respond, Alya had the fire in eyes as she pinned Truesight with her gaze. He seemed blissfully unaware of the doom approaching him. 

As they approached, he set down his crossbow and removed his helmet. This revealed a short red beard and mustache – much cleaner cut than what Marinette had seen him wearing three days ago. “Pull up a chair. I assume this will be a long conversation.” _Okay, so maybe he_ wasn't _blissfully unaware_. 

As they found spare seats, he reached for the ornate tankard at his hip. A tap to the side, a ringing that changed pitch, and he began drinking. 

Alya, who had been occupied with setting up her phone, watched this happen with curiosity. “What are you drinking?”

“Ambrosia.” Truesight replied simply.

“And that is...?” 

“A divine drink that, besides its ability to help recover health and stamina, can sustain a body in lieu of food.” Once he finished speaking he took a deep sip of the drink and set it on the nearby desk. “I have had to rely on it heavily since my arrival.”

There was a long pause as they waited for him to elaborate, but he did not. Instead, he looked outside at the snowy cityscape. Alya was about to press record on her phone before Truesight reached out and placed a hand on it. She protested, “Hey! What are you doing?”

“I may not understand what that thing is, but I am a quick learner. I'd rather not have my face be committed to mechanical memory.” 

Alya tapped her finger against her phone, but relented with a sigh. She stared him in the eyes as she asked, “Can I record your voice at least?”

Truesight considered this, eventually nodding. “Fine, I can at least alter my voice if I want to be hidden.” 

Her face lit up and she began her questioning. She adopted what Marinette had come to know as her 'reporter voice' that she used when addressing the viewers of the Ladyblog. 

“Yo peeps, it's Alya here, bringing you the one and only Ladyblog. I'm here with an exclusive interview with the mysterious new hero who has been the talk of the week: Truesight! He has requested no video for this interview, but has allowed the audio to be recorded.” She pulled out a paper notepad. Marinette leaned over Alya's shoulder to get a better look at it, seeing pages of questions. Her sympathy for Truesight was building. 

“First question: What do you know about Ladybug and Chat Noir?”

“They are good kids and excellent heroes. I couldn't have picked more fitting bearers of the miraculous myself.” Marinette felt her eyes water slightly at the praise. This was the man who picked the original bearers, after all. 

Alya waved her free hand impatiently. “We all know that, but I was more curious if you know about their secret identities.”

“For the sake of honor, I cannot answer that question. They want their identities hidden, and they shall have that.”

Alya pouted and glanced at her notes. “So is there anything you are willing to share about their personal identities?”

“No.”

“Fine, fine.” She took a moment to cross out about a fourth of the questions on the page. “You said that you are on a hunt today. What are you hunting?” 

“Monsters from beyond the veil. Ladybug and Chat Noir excel at defeating akumas, but they do not know this enemy like I do. Most of my free time is spent discovering where the beasts will emerge before they do so. I hope to minimize damage in this way.”

“Wouldn't Ladybug's powers be helpful in restoring things then?”

“Her powers are not developed enough to heal the wounds that can be caused by these entities.”

Alya looked up, eyes wide. Marinette was listening with rapt attention. The silence was shattered when Alya scoffed and laughed. “I've seen Ladybug restore the city from being entirely flooded before, and bring people back from being erased from existence. What damage could they possibly do that Ladybug couldn't fix it?”

He shook his head. “It isn't the extent of the damage, but the powers involved. The dark energies that corrupt the akuma is heavily diluted by the power of the butterfly miraculous. This makes it easy to undo with the ladybug miraculous. But these beasts are _made_ of that same corruption. It would be taxing to fix slight damage from them. But serious injuries? _Death_?” He waved his hand dismissively. “No. I am unwilling to put anyone but myself in danger until we can nurture Ladybug's power further. 

Alya shivered, likely at the memory of the shadow monsters. “Moving on... You seem to be somewhat of an expert on the miraculous. Is that correct?”

Truesight snorted. “Aye, I suppose that I am.” There was a glint of mirth in his eyes, like he was privy to a joke that no one else was.

“Hawkmoth has prayed upon the emotions of Parisians for over a year now. Yet he hasn't corrupted anyone suffering from depression or sadness, instead focusing on anger and fear. Is this a case of rare compassion on Hawkmoth's part, or a failing in his miraculous?”

The mirth on his face gave way to a cold mask. “That wretch likely does not have such qualms. The butterfly uses emotion as power. The individual becomes locked in the mindset that they were in upon receiving their power. They are given over entirely to the emotion that empowers them.” 

He took a sip from his tankard before continuing. “Sorrow on its own does not lead to action. It paralyzes, makes the individual seize up and wallow in despair. Anger and fear prompt action. All Hawkmoth need do is channel that action towards his purposes.”

Alya absorbed this information. “I think I have time for a few more questions before our food gets here, so let's take a step back and answer some questions mined from the forums of the Ladyblog.” She flipped a few pages. Marinette noted that there were whole sections dedicated to questions for Chat or Ladybug. 

Before the questioning could continue, Adrien and Nino entered the room. Alya shot a glare at Truesight, and pointed two fingers at her eyes, then at Truesight. 

Nino crossed the room, placing her lunch and coffee on Chloe's desk and planting a kiss on Alya’s cheek. Adrien watched this and glanced back at Marinette with a blush. “Uh, here's your lunch. No kiss though.”

Marinette matched his blush, but nodded. They shifted over to the desk and began eating. As Marinette opened the box her pizza was in, she noticed her twenty euro note tucked neatly within it. She shot him a glare. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, it was the lunch hour rush, so I didn't want to take up too much time...” His grin undermined his alibi, but the joy he was showing in buying her lunch made it hard for her to stay mad at him. 

Nino cleared his throat and cast a meaningful glance at Truesight. “So... how'd the interview go?”

This drew her attention back to the armored knight, who was taking a deep drink from his tankard. Alya drummed her fingers on the table, only a couple of bites taken out of her panini. “It was a score, but it definitely hasn't satisfied my curiosity.” She glared at him.

Nino rubbed his hands together. “Mind if I give it a go after we finish our meals?”

She fought down a smile as she responded. “Sure, you can have the next round of questions. I don't think Truesight will be answering the what I would ask anyway.”

The man in question interrupted them, “I don't suppose I get a say in this?”

“No.”

“Aye, that's what I figured.” 

He went back to his vigil while they finished their meal in peace. Nino had been surprisingly quiet while eating, casting thoughtful glances toward Truesight while the conversation went on around him. At last, the time came for his interview with the hero.

Alya turned on her phone and gave Nino the thumbs up. He leaned forward, hands on his knees when he asked his first momentous question. “What... is your favorite color?” His girlfriend groaned and Marinette saw her move to turn off the recording.

Truesight blinked, then leaned back in laughter. “I admire your humor, lad.” He leaned in conspiratorially. “Dark green, for the record. Reminds me of the pine forests of my homeland.”

Nino pretended to write this down, nodding seriously. “And tell me: What is your preference in music, dude?”

This prompted his interviewee to rub his chin in thought, eyes searching the ceiling. “I enjoy songs sung as a group. Shanties, for instance. It is grand to feel a part of something larger.”

Sketch answer, nod seriously. Marinette was snorting with contained laughter and Adrien wasn't faring any better. Alya was glaring at her boyfriend's mockery, but he carefully, deliberately, looked straight forward. “Last one.” Truesight nodded, the corners of his mouth tilted up. “No one can do heroics as a full-time job. So what do you do for a living?”

“I assume you mean before all this?” He gestured to the world at large. He leaned back in his chair, arm over the back. Staring at the ceiling, he continued, “I was an adventurer. But that isn't seen as much of a job, so I suppose you could say my real profession was... storyteller.”

Marinette blinked in surprise. _Storyteller?_

It was at that time they heard students approaching - the two hour lunch break had nearly reached its end. She looked back at Truesight, only to see him put his helmet back on and resume looking out the window. 

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

One of the last pairs of students to enter the room was Rose and Juleka. Rose went to her spot as normal, but Juleka continued walking – straight towards Truesight. 

He spoke over his shoulder as she got near. “Aye, lass? There something you need?”

“You said that runes told you to be here. I've been thinking about that all day. What did you mean?”

He placed his crossbow down again, and reached for a leather bag at his hip. He stood up, pulling the bag off and dumped the contents onto Ms. Bustier's desk. It wasn't long before the other students had crowded around the desk. There were eight yellow-white objects that were similar to dice. The faces of the dice were carved with symbols. “These are the runes. I cast them down with a question in mind, and I interpret the symbols shown.”

Chloe, who had not risen from her desk and instead sat there filing her nails, quipped, “Sounds like something some dirty fortune teller does at the fair. A cheap trick to get money out of the gullible.”

Instead of responding, Truesight gathered the dice, held them in his hands for long seconds and tossed them. He commanded, “Commit these symbols to memory.” He gave them a moment to do so before repeating the process.

The same symbols showed. He repeated the process again. The same result. Max reached for a die, glancing nervously at Truesight as he did so. At Truesight's nod, Max picked one up and rolled it, getting a different symbol. The class erupted in awed whispers.

“The runes are an old practice. In the right hands, they grant valuable insight into possible outcomes.”

“Is that so? Then why have you been slumming the streets for a few days now if your dice are so accurate?” Chloe, again. Truesight's helmet rotated in her direction and stared. 

After the silence grew uncomfortable, he responded. “Questions asked of the runes must be narrowly focused to avoid ambiguity in the answer. Even so, only wisdom and training can glean anything of value from the casting. I had to spend time narrowing down the possible locations, tailoring my question, before I could pin down a time.”

Juleka's eyes were wide as she looked up at Truesight, hand near her mouth. “So does this mean you know real, actual magic?”

Truesight snorted. “Aye, I was a practitioner, though it doesn't help me much here. Magic is weak on this world.”

“Are there downsides? Like – does magic demand a cost?”

His helmet swiveled to look at her. His voice was offended as he chided her, “I am not bargaining with devils, lass.” He calmed. “But... if one lacks the personal power to cast a spell, then sacrifice is necessary. A symbolic sacrifice, usually. For example, I've known mages who use flowers which closed at dusk to provide the fuel for light spells.”

He gathered up his dice and placed them back in his pouch. “Here ends the lesson. Take your seats, I'm sure Ms. Bustier will be arriving any moment now.”

Sure enough, Ms. Bustier was in the classroom a few minutes afterwards. She flashed a bright smile to her students as she began the lesson.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully and everyone began packing up. This included Truesight, who hefted his crossbow and approached Ms. Bustier. Marinette was passing by as he spoke, and she managed to catch his whispered words. “Since the beast did not appear today, it seems it will be showing itself tomorrow. You can expect me in your classroom again.” He chuckled. “Just so you aren't surprised by my appearance again.”

Ms. Bustier had the same look in her eye that Alya would get when planning to corner Ladybug. “I'll keep that in mind. Thank you.”

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The snow had not let up, and there had been serious concerns about if school would be canceled for Friday. Ultimately, the roads had been cleared in time and the continued snowfall wouldn't be an issue – in theory. _I'd bet it didn't impact_ his _ability to get here, either._

Sure enough, when Marinette arrived to class Truesight had taken up position at the window. There was no crowd at the door, the students having generally accepted his presence. She greeted Alya and waved to Adrien and Nino. 

Ms. Bustier entered the room before Marinette had a chance to talk much with Alya, and the calling of pairs began. 

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The topic of today's class wasn't a continuation of the Napoleonic era from yesterday, which was a surprise to everyone. Instead, it was a lesson about the medieval knights – the meaning of heraldry, the armaments used by them and why, and their role in the feudal system. 

It became clear why there was a sudden change when Ms. Bustier turned to Truesight and asked him, “Do you have any insights that you can offer the class, Mr. Truesight?”

Marinette had noticed his vigilance had been waning as he listened into the lecture. His head would turn slightly, his crossbow would slowly lower. When she called on him, he didn't seem shocked by it. He muttered, “Aye,” and began moving. He placed his crossbow on the window sill and stood in front of the class. “Though my homeland works a bit different than it does here.” He put his arms to the side, pushing his cloak out of the way as he took his tabard in his hands to smooth it out. The snarling wolf's head symbol was readily visible as he spoke.

“The symbol is meant to represent who the bearer is – as well as what they ought to become. The wolf is a cunning predator. They are strong individually, but are wise enough to travel in packs. The wolf represents unbridled freedom, but also the strength of unity. Courageous honor, but pragmatism.” He laughed. “I'll leave you all to decide on what traits the elders hoped I'd pick up on, and what traits they had seen in me.”

Several hands were raised in the air. Truesight turned his head to Ms. Bustier. She looked back in confusion before realization dawned. “Oh! Raising their hands means they want to ask a question. Call on them and answer them.” He nodded and turned back to the class.

“Max?”

“What kingdom did you get your symbol from?”

He shrugged and turned his palms toward them. “The name would mean nothing on this world, I'm afraid. Though they operate on a similar system as was being taught today.” This caused a murmur in the classroom which Truesight ignored. “Alix?”

“Where did you get your armor from? It doesn't much compare to Ladybug and Chat Noir's, but it is still pretty sweet.”

He acknowledged the compliment with a nod. “Most of my equipment was a going-away present. My armor was built by my brother. Took him a year, even with his skill.” He rapped a fist against his breastplate. “I've used it for ages and I've got no complaints. Kim?”

“Does it get in the way? It is a lotta gear to be hauling around everywhere.”

“Armor isn't as constrictive as you might think. The weight is spread over my body and is very well tailored to me.” He performed a series of stretches. “Besides, the metal used is famed for being lightweight. Though it is a pain to get into. Nino?”

“How do you go to the bathroom in that?” Groaning and nods of agreement followed his question.

“Remarkably easily. Juleka?”

“What is the scariest thing you've ever fought?” She leaned forward in anticipation as a quiet settled over the classroom. Ms. Bustier seemed about to chastise her when Truesight tapped his visor and hummed.

“Demon seems the obvious choice, but honestly seen one, seen them all. Cosmic horror just gets grating after a while. Giant spiders deserve an honorable mention, if only because I spent an hour hanging upside down in a web cocoon. Pretty sure I have a phobia from that now. But I'd say either a vampire or a dragon.” 

He was tapping his chest now as he gazed at the ceiling, lost in remembrance. He nodded slowly. “Aye, definitely a vampire. They tend to dwell in foggy areas and have the ability to turn to mist. Silent as the moon's rays. So you'll look to your right for your hunting companion to see naught but blood on the ground. Unholy strength, speed, resilience, I've seen them punch clean through plate armor and out the other side before the poor sap could spout even a battle cry.” 

He shook his head. “Anyway, that's what I'd-” 

A tremor went through his body and he bolted for the window, picking up and firing the crossbow in one smooth motion. She heard the twang of the crossbow's string followed almost instantly by an animalistic roar of pain. His gaze was fixed on something outside as he reloaded his crossbow, firing it again in mere seconds. He had loaded the third bolt, but cursed (well, she assumed it was a curse. It wasn't a language she understood but she could feel the anger loaded into the word) and attached it to the leather strip that affixed it to his hip.

To Marinette's surprise, he was now climbing out the window. Ms. Bustier called out, but he was already sliding down a pipe outside the window. 

The air in the room was thick with tension as Ms. Bustier gaped at the window. She walked over, glancing in both directions before closing the window. 

She took up her normal spot in front of the class, smoothed out an invisible wrinkle from her outfit, and addressed the students. “Since it is likely not advised to be outside for now, and since we still have some topics to cover today, let us continue with our normally scheduled course work, shall we?”

No one commented, and so they returned to the Napoleonic wars. 

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Truesight hadn't returned to the class, and the school hours were over. Reluctantly, Ms. Bustier allowed them to leave, but warned them to be careful. Once outside the classroom, Marinette found herself as part of a single throng comprised of most of the students of her class. Everyone was talking over everyone else excitedly and she could only absorb so much.

“Is he from Earth? Where is he-”

“Vampires! Demons! Did he fight them here, or-”

“Left in such a hurry, do you think he managed-”

At that moment, crossing the threshold out of the building, they spotted it. 

Superficially, it resembled an elk. It was ill-defined and made of a constantly flowing purple substance that gave the entire entity a dripping, oily look. Its charge was erratic and limping, with wounds weeping black ooze along its side and crossbow bolts sticking out of its neck. 

It was charging straight for them. Everyone scattered in different directions, all panicking. She pulled Alya by the elbow as she tried to pull out her phone and start recording. 

Her back was turned when she heard a twang and another roar. She looked back to see Truesight hot on its heels, crossbow dangling at his side, expended. He drew his sword and plunged it into the creature. 

Both tumbled to the ground, but the warrior ended up on top. He stabbed the white blade through the creatures neck and it flailed, then stilled. Truesight was panting heavily as he fumbled with another pouch at his side. He pulled out a vial as the creature seemed to... dissolve. The effect was similar to how a victim of Hawkmoth would transform back into a normal person – only, there was nothing there to be left behind except a scorch mark on the ground.

Truesight set the vial on the ground and placed his hands parallel to the ground. His breathing steadied and the burn mark shifted. Eyes widening, Marinette watched as a fine powder was lifted from the snow and cement, flying through the air to funnel into the vial. Truesight corked it and returned it to the pouch.

He pulled out his sword and raised it to the sky. In the next moment, he was gone. 

Everyone was silent as they continued to watch the spot he had just left. 

Juleka, quiet timid Juleka, was the first to respond. She shouted, “THAT WAS AWESOME!” This broke the spell on the crowd as they went back to talking over each other, though not everyone agreed with her assessment of the situation. 

Alya was suddenly pulling Marinette and Nino behind her as she stormed to Marinette's house. She yelled over her shoulder at Adrien. “You better come too, blondie. I don't know about you, but I could use some baked goods and a romantic comedy after today. Plus, I have an idea for our next night out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd normally post this chapter on Friday, but I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow and won't be back in time. So have a new chapter a bit early!


	10. Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang goes to a play in honor of Ladybug and Chat Noir, following it up with high class Italian cuisine. 
> 
> Jaws will be dropped! Wild emotions are set loose! Pasta is eaten! And _more_!

Sitting in her room, long after her parents had fallen asleep, Marinette was filled with creative energy. Friday afternoon Alya had sprung on them the event they would be attending this coming Wednesday. It was an event that was just high class enough that she would need a nice dress to wear. Thankfully, she had a half-finished dress on standby for just such an occasion.

But with homework, and Adrien's jacket, and Ladybug – an akuma a day for the weekend! - she hadn't had any spare time for the dress.

Now it was Monday. Even worse, it was Monday night, which meant she needed to get it done today or just _hope_ that she could scrape some time together to finish it tomorrow. She might be lucky, but she knew she shouldn't rely on it. She was more than prepared to pull an all-nighter today if push came to shove.

Thus, when there came a gentle tap at her window, her first thought was not joy at seeing her cherished partner's face. It was anger born of annoyance. Some of it must have shown on her face, if his sudden fearful expression and attempt to hide behind the wall meant anything. With a deep breath, she calmed her excited nerves and opened the roof door for Chat.

He slunk into the room hesitantly. “Am I interrupting something, Princess?”

She flopped back into her desk chair. “No, no. I needed to take a break anyway.”

Craning his neck at the mess in front of her, he tried to figure out what she was making. “That's a lot of black fabric. Making a dress?”

She nodded. “Mmhm. My friend Alya – you might know her? She is the pushy lady behind the Ladyblog – she insisted on going to see this play, right? It is about you and Ladybug.” She paused to gauge his reaction. He seemed unmoved. _I guess it has been advertised all over the place._ “So it is a fancy event, but more importantly, Adrien – super kind, kinda dorky model boy in my class – suggested a high-class Italian restaurant to go to afterwards.” Chat Noir must have breathed wrong or something, since he was choking at the moment. She patted his back and continued. “I had a black dress almost finished, it just needs some precision work to be done now. So you can't stay too long, kitty.”

“So.” Cough. “Well, don’t have too much fun with this dorky model boy, okay? And let me know how you enjoy their depiction of me. Although,” he regained some of his composure and flexed, “I'm sure they won't compare to the real deal.”

She rolled her eyes at his antics, but was smiling. _Speaking of Adrien..._ She slide to a nearby drawer. Opening it, she pulled out a soft scarf. “Here. It is only getting colder out now, and that suit doesn't cover everything.”

He took the scarf reverently. It honestly hadn't been too hard to make since she had already made something similar for Adrien. Instead of blue, however, this scarf was a deep black with green paw prints winding along the length of the article. At the ends were what seemed to be a series of gracefully flowing curves and the word 'Cataclysm.'

Gaping at it, he was only drawn from his reverie by Marinette coughing. He blinked up at her and she laughed at his dumbfounded expression. “Princess... where did you get this? I haven't seen anything quite like it... well, I guess there was one thing, but I thought it was a one of a kind.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him. _So he thinks it is good enough to be a designer brand?_ “I didn't get it anywhere. I _made_ it.” She stood next to him and pointed at the flowing curves. “See this? It has my signature hidden in it, same as all my works.” He turned it upside down and his mouth formed a perfect 'o.'

Then he got a strange look in his eye, and his expression turned sour. She tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice.“Do... do you not like it?”

He snapped out of the mood, eyes focusing back on Marinette. “What? No! No, I love it, honestly. It just... made me think of something is all.” He wrapped it around his neck and bowed to her. “I'm sorry I have to leave so soon, but there is something I need to check. When I return, I will be sure to bring you a gift to repay you for your kindness.”

“You really don't need-” But before she could protest further, he had leaped out the roof door.

Tikki floated out of her hiding spot. “He is a dramatic one, isn't he?”

Marinette tilted her head to the side, frowning. “I hope he is alright. He seemed to like the scarf at first, but...” She shook the thoughts from her mind. “At least I can finish the dress now, right?” She could ask Chat what that was all about later. For now, she had work to do.

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“Plagg, claws in.”

Adrien had arrived home in a hurry, and immediately began digging through his closet. Plagg, sensing the desperation in his charge, quickly grabbed his cheese and floated back over to Adrien's shoulder.

After minutes of searching, Adrien found what he was looking for – a light blue scarf, the only meaningful gift his father had given him. At the ends of the scarf were elegant flowing curves. Or, more accurately, elegant flowing _script_. Turning it just so, he could read the name etched there in gleaming gold: _Marinette_

He sat on the floor in silence, too stunned to think much of anything. Plagg laid a paw on Adrien's cheek. “Kid... are you going to be okay?”

His vision went blurry as the tears began forming. He spoke in a wavering voice. “Plagg... I can't believe I was so _stupid_.”

“Kid...”

“Of _course_ my father hadn't gotten me anything! He hadn't gotten me anything but pens for years!”

“Kid.” Plagg's voice was growing more forceful.

“Why would I think he ever cared-”

“Adrien!” Plagg shouted to be heard over the torrent of words his charge was letting loose. Adrien finally turned to him. “Listen – you knew your dad was cold and distant. This doesn't change anything except now you know how much your friends care for you, right?”

He tried to wipe away his tears as he retorted. “She c-could've told me! Why hide this?”

Plagg rolled his eyes. “Well you _were_ going around in that scarf all day, telling everyone who asked – and some who didn't – that your dad got it for your birthday. Would _you_ have been the one to burst that bubble?”

He opened his mouth but closed it without saying anything – what Plagg said was pretty much true. _I guess I brought this on myself_. “I was just... so excited at the thought of him caring like that... I guess he doesn't after all.”

Plagg was floating in front of him now, cross-legged. He was shaking his head. “You know how your father is.” He pointed an arm at Adrien, his face a serious mask. “I know he cares about you in his own way, but it is best if you seek out love and affection elsewhere.” He zipped down onto the blue scarf he had cast aside. Struggling, Plagg managed to lift it in the air with him, and showed Adrien the signature written there.

Blinking to clear his eyes, Adrien read it once again. He didn't say such much as lipped the name: “Marinette.”

Plagg continued. “And Ladybug. And Nino. And Alya.” He placed on paw on Adrien's nose as he looked into his eyes. “And me. We all care about you, kid. We are here for you.”

Adrien still felt the despair tugging at his heart, but... it felt good. To have people on his side for his sake, rather than the image he projected. He'd have to take some time to internalize all this, but....

“Feeling better, kid?” Hesitantly, Adrien nodded, wiping the last of the tears from his face. “Good, cause Nino's been blowing up your phone for a while now.”

Troubles forgotten for the moment, he unlocked his phone with a mixture of curiosity and concern. His frown slowly morphed into a smile as he realized his friend was panicking about what he was wearing for Wednesday. _Well, good thing for Nino that his best friend is a “super kind, kinda dorky model.”_ He started texting Alya to coordinate her and Nino's clothes as he began reassuring Nino he'd get him a suit.

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It had been decided that Adrien (or more specifically, the Gorilla) would pick up everyone else. Marinette and Alya were at Marinette's house. Adrien had taken care of almost everything for Nino the day before, and there were only a few crises that he needed to help his friend through once he arrived.

Adrien didn’t put too much consideration into his attire, letting his well-honed fashion instincts guide him. His suit was light grey, with a white shirt and navy tie.

With a well-dressed Nino in tow, they left for the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Alya? Are you almost done?” Marinette asked of the bathroom door. They had met with the excuse of helping each other get ready for tonight's adventure, but Marinette's main goal in having Alya here was to keep her calm and steady. She had thought she was nervous heading into the movies and sushi with Adrien – but now she was going to a play (based on her!) and then having a high-class dinner.

_What if I react in a way that clues them into the fact that I'm Ladybug? What if I do the wrong thing at dinner and offend Adrien? He has Italian heritage. That would make it all the more personal if I messed up!_

“Girl, you can open the door. I'm only straightening my hair.” Somewhat embarrassed, Marinette opened the door and slide into the bathroom. Alya was still wearing the pajamas from their sleepover and was painstakingly working through her hair. Despite having been in here for half an hour, she was barely halfway done. Marinette was suddenly grateful for not having nearly as much hair as Alya.

“How's it going, girl? Holding yourself together? Looking forward to seeing the Sun Prince in his royal fineries?” She was watching Marinette in the mirror as she settled behind Alya. Of course, that meant that even Marinette could see the blush she was sporting at her words, which had Alya chuckling.

“It's not like he is going to be wearing his best clothes and going all out. It is just a play and a good restaurant. Not like a _gala_ or something.” Marinette chided her, although she felt she was more consoling herself than telling off her friend.

“Whatever you say, Marinette. Lets just make sure that you and Adrien are on equal footing, hm?” Marinette blinked up at Alya uncomprehendingly. Alya stopped for a moment and turned around to look Marinette in the eye. “You are going to look _so_ beautiful tonight that it will be _Adrien's_ turn to be a stuttering mess.”

Wide eyed, she responded in an awed whisper, “Really? What makes you so sure?”

Alya snorted. “Because he is a boy and has eyes. Duh.”

Her heart warmed and felt her confidence restored as Alya returned to working on her hair. She left the bathroom to return to her own room. _I'd better get started then. The boys will be here in a few hours._

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Adrien entered the bakery with Nino hot on his heels. The bakery didn't have any customers at the moment, so he felt free to loiter in the shop area until Sabine came out. Adrien flashed her his brightest smile as she appeared. “Good afternoon! Are Marinette and Alya ready?”

“They almost are, dear. Please, come into the living room.” She looked over him and Nino as they passed her to enter the house portion of the bakery. She smiled warmly. “Why aren't you too looking especially handsome this evening? The girls are lucky to have you. I'll let them know you are here.”

Adrien blinked, but smiled gratefully anyway. He nudged Nino. “See? You look fine.” He remembered the long conversation he had with Nino, trying to find what sort of suit would work best for him. Eventually, Adrien allowed him to wear a colored suit – so long as Nino would leave his headphones at home. They had settled on burgundy to match Alya's dress.

Speaking of whom, Alya arrived downstairs a few minutes later in a cocktail dress, hair straightened. Adrien was impressed. It had to have taken a long time and a lot of effort to go through that much hair. However impressed Adrien thought himself to be, Nino was far more so – stunned would be a better descriptor. Adrien reached out and pushed Nino's chin up to close his mouth. “We spent far too much time getting you ready for tonight, Mr. Lahiffe, for you to ruin it with your drooling.”

His teasing either went ignored or unheard, as Nino's face softened into affection. Alya caught sight of him in return and grinned. “Well, well. Don't you clean up nicely?” Adrien glanced away as they embraced and as a result saw the trap door to Marinette's room open. After a moment's pause, Marinette herself came down the stairs.

She was wearing an A-line dress that wasn't fitted at the waist, allowing the dress to skim her small frame. The black velvet dress was off her shoulders, accented with a deep blue wrap – the same color as her eyes, much like the blue necklace she was wearing. Which carried his gaze to her face. By the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, heels clicking on the wood, her eyes were about level with his nose. There was a slight shimmer that drew his focus even more to those vibrant blue eyes. Which, he belatedly realized, were looking up at him curiously. Her hair had been pulled back and curled. He felt Nino push his chin up to close his mouth.

Adrien snapped out of his trance, drawing laughter from his friends, and giggles from Marinette. She briefly covered her mouth with her hand, and when she removed it, he could see the dark rose lipstick she was wearing. A blush graced her features – whether it was from her makeup or his staring, he couldn't tell. She seemed to be taking him in as much as he was gawking at her, so he felt a bit less bad about it.

“Y-You look good tonight, Marinette!” He cleared his throat and tried again. “Uh, I-I mean you look beautiful most of the time, but right now especially!” He laughed nervously as her blush ( _and mine_ ) deepened ( _Ah, so it is natural_ ).

“Thank you, A-Adrien! You too good looking!” She closed her eyes and seemed to chew for a moment. Opening them again, she started over. “You look especially handsome today. Is what I was trying to say.”

His heart was pounding in his chest as she began talking to Alya. He frowned. _Why am I acting like this? I'm around beautiful women all the time. It is practically my job description._ She glanced back at him, looking away immediately when she caught him watching. His thoughts screeched to a halt in that brief moment of contact. _I suppose Marinette isn't just any girl._

While she was looking away, he noticed she was still wearing the black earrings that she always did. He cocked his head to the side. _She must really like those, then. They seem kinda... plain compared to the rest of the outfit._

He entered the conversation as it meandered through inconsequential topics. They still had a couple of minutes to burn before they needed to head out. Marinette had just been watching him while he talked and he saw out of the corner of his sight her eyes widen as she looked at his chest.

“It seems we compliment each other, Adrien.” He glanced down at his navy blue tie, blinking owlishly. He had sorta meant to do this, but hadn’t really thought it through. After all, _Adrien_ hadn't known the color of her dress ahead of time. _Chat Noir_ did. He rubbed the back of his neck.

“That's a cool coincidence! Although,” he leaned closer to Marinette and continued in a stage whisper, “we don't match to the extent that these two do.” He pointed with his thumb to their two friends, who were watching this unfold with amusement. Marinette giggled and Adrien straightened out as he checked his phone. “Looks like we should be leaving now.”

After a last minute check (including a surreptitious pat at his chest pocket, where Plagg slept), everyone had everything they'd need for the night. They were in the car and on their way.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The play was staged in front of the Eiffel Tower, much like the last play he had, by chance, watched with Marinette. They had seats up front, mostly due to how much weight the Agreste name carried. Adrien wasn't too fond of that, but if it made his friends happy then he wasn't going to start complaining now.

He and Alya were the most excited for this. While Marinette's plan had originally been to just go mini-golfing, Alya's insistence on the play was difficult to surmount. When Adrien joined just as fervently, Marinette's resolve had given out. Adrien reasoned that it was likely due to it now being a two on one debate. It probably had nothing to do with how much she had started blushing once Adrien had started gushing about the heroes (or, more specifically, heroine) of Paris.

Since Alya and Nino couldn't be parted, that made the seating order Marinette, Adrien, Alya, and finally Nino. Once they were seated, Alya was distracted by talking with her boyfriend. She had already taken out a notepad for the play – good or bad, this was going on the Ladyblog. Adrien leaned over to Marinette, who had a distant look in her eyes.

“I am really excited about this play. I can't wait to see how other people see Ladybug and Chat Noir. Plus, it is going to be really cool to see them adapt their adventures to the stage.”

Marinette seemed startled at first. After a moment, she flashed a smile. “You are cute when you are excited.” Her eyes went hazy for a moment before her pupils shrunk to pinpoints. “I didn't mean to say that out loud! I mean, yes, I am curious as to what the playwright thinks of the Bug and Cat team as well.”

She was clearly nervous, so he took it in stride and gently corrected her. “Don't you mean the Cat and Bug team?” The glare she shot him lacked malice as she rolled her eyes.

_Why did I just get the strangest feeling of deja vu?_

Before he could ruminate on this further, the show began.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

_Oh **God**_. Adrien's excitement had been slowly crushed into dismay. It had started out tame enough, briefly covering their origins and their fight with Stoneheart. But there were already snags.

“Chat Noir makes better puns than _that_.” He grumbled, and he felt Marinette pat his arm. He glanced over. She half-smiled and shrugged, clearly not too impressed so far either.

The crowd seemed to be enjoying what Adrien was beginning to see as his roast. Especially what became the running joke of him throwing himself in front of Ladybug for increasingly silly reasons. They got the Timebreaker and Dark Cupid ones somewhat right, but then they started adding scenes where he would jump in front of her to save her from slow-moving projectiles, snowballs, _reporters_. And it just kept getting worse from there.

Speaking of Dark Cupid... _apparently_ this started an illicit love affair between the two of them as they realized their feelings for each other ( _I wish!_ ), which has continued until the present day. This was reinforced in the scene inspired by Prime Queen, where it was revealed that they must keep their relationship a secret for the good of Paris. Why this would keep Paris safe is infuriatingly kept vague.

There seemed to be plenty of Ladynoir shippers in the audience, as they all ‘aw'd’ during the Dark Cupid scene and shed happy tears at the Prime Queen one.

Perhaps most infuriatingly is how they treated his lady. They mostly preserved her confidence and heroism, but they made her out to be too lost in thought to be quick in the fight. Which was why Chat needed to take the bullet for her. _APPARENTLY_. Worse, they chalked this 'lost in thought' up to her trying to figure out the most convoluted way to use her Lucky Charm.

At least the crowd (and Alya especially) agreed with him. The joke elicited some laughs at the first couple of times and simply got worse from there. What really set them off was Chat Noir becoming mind controlled. There were some nervous chuckles the first time, but after that there was mostly just fearful muttering. Shame welled up within Adrien as he took in the fact that the people were at their most scared when he was turned against them.

Thankfully, Marinette seemed thoroughly unamused with the play. Her lips had formed a tight red line and she was glaring holes through the actors and stage. Her hands were clenched into fists whenever they saw them make light of Chat Noir being brainwashed. Adrien – despite feeling pretty terrible himself, placed his hand over hers during one such scene and gave it a squeeze. She quickly turned to him, eyes open. He frowned with a glance towards the stage. She calmed down, but to be on the safe side he held onto her hand for the rest of the show. God knows he needed the support as much as she seemed to need his.

By the end, Adrien and Marinette were fuming. Adrien just found out that cool cat Chat Noir was a joke – at least to the writer of the play. But his emotions _paled_ in comparison to the raging hellfire that was Alya. Her eyes were narrowed, lips pursed in a scowl. She almost gave off a surreal calm... until you noted the shattered pencil in one hand and the angry tapping of the other.

Immediately after the show was done she launched up. “Let’s get out of here. I could go for some food. And a new pencil. I will be _tearing_ this play a new one on my blog. But I need to get all the terrible little details right... much like how the play got them all wrong.”

Nino, for his part, seemed to be the most calm of the four. He put an arm around Alya and rubbed her shoulder while guiding her toward the car.

Adrien stood up, only to realize he was still holding Marinette's hand. “Oh! Sorry, Mari.” Her cheeks burst into flame, and he let go of her hand. They began walking after Nino. “I guess this whole thing was a bad idea. Sorry we dragged you into this.”

“Well, none of us could've known it was that bad until we saw it. And I admit that I was kinda looking forward to how the _Bug and Cat team_...” She said this with extra emphasis, as if daring him to correct her again. He simply bit his lip and tried to look as innocent as possible. “...would be portrayed in fiction.” She sighed. In a quieter voice, she added, “Hopefully they don't see that mess.”

In his mind, Adrien responded. _Too late for Chat Noir._

They reached the car and began the short trip to the restaurant.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Marinette was livid. She could deal with everything else about the play – even the godawful shoehorned romance subplot. But the way they treated Chat was, in her mind, the worst of it. He was selfless and kind. Without him, she would have been taken out by any number of akuma victims. Yet they treated him like a punchline! And yeah, his jokes were bad, but they weren't _that_ bad.

He didn't _deserve_ to be exaggerated into a cartoon character for their amusement!

She forced herself to breath as they left the car to go into the restaurant. Since the play bombed, she could at least hope that Chat Noir never got the chance to see it - his depiction would simply break his heart. Her gaze hardened. She would make sure that he never saw it – warn him off it, if necessary. Her partner deserved better.

After Adrien gave his name, they were taken to their table and given menus. They were the fancy sort of menus that had nothing on them but the names of the meals – in Italian, of course. There were no prices, no descriptions, just the names. _Oh God, this has been tailor made to make me look like an idiot!_

Then Adrien addressed the group. Marinette noticed she wasn't the only one started to panic when she glanced at Nino's wide eyes and Alya's expression of horror. “I've been here plenty of times. It is more like home meals in Italy, except shortened, so I'll walk you all through what is expected, okay? I know most of the plates, at least by reputation.”

True to his word, he explained that there would be the antipaso, which was bread and cheese appetizers. The waiter approached during this time, and exchanged a few words in Italian with Adrien. He continued. The first course was called primo, and was generally a pasta dish. The second course was called secundo, and this was the main dish, usually fish based. The last two were the contoro (a side dish) and coffee to finish.

The appetizers arrive and Adrien asked for more time to decide. At this point, Marinette and Alya excused themselves to go to the bathroom.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Adrien was grateful at the girls' choice to leave when they did. Plagg was starting to wake from his slumber and was moving about uncomfortably. He knew that cheese would be key to getting the ancient being under control.

_But how?_ Palming the cheese in front of him would be ideal, but he still had Nino to contend with, not to mention the waiters bustling along. All of whom would definitely notice Adrien smuggling cheese into his shirt pocket.

Nino, bless/curse him, seemed totally engrossed in their conversation and was unlikely to ignore him anytime soon. The girls would only be gone for so long, and he wouldn't get another opportunity. Which meant he had to play sneaky.

"Do you have that playlist you were showing me a few days ago? I wanted to ask you something about it, but I can't remember exactly what it was. Maybe if I saw the titles it would jog my memory?"

Nino's eyes lit up. "Certainly, dude. Give me a sec." Adrien felt a bit guilty lying to his friend. _Well, I'm sure I can think of a few questions to ask him on the fly._ Nino looked at his phone under the table. Adrien timed his strike for when the waiters were busy before nimbly grabbing a hunk of castelmagno cheese, shoving it down his pocket and closing it again. He glanced around furtively to make sure no one was giving him weird glances.

Adrien smirked on the inside at the flawless execution, a bit of his Chat Noir pride restored. A few moments later, Nino had the playlist in front of him, and they were looking down the song list.

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"Oh geez, looks like Nino's roped Adrien into testing his playlists again." They had just arrived back into the area where their table was and they could see their boys crowded over Nino's phone.

Marinette scrunched up her eyebrows. "How can he do that without his headphones?"

Alya threw her hands in the air. "Who knows? C'mon, girl. Can't leave your Sun Prince waiting. He _is_ paying for all this, after all."

They had paid for their tickets, but the restaurant was well and truly beyond any of their means... excluding Adrien, of course. They would have settled for something less high-brow, but he insisted that since they were going to be dressed up anyway, they ought to come here. It was apparently one of his favorite restaurants.

As she took a seat, she glanced at the appetizers, eyes widening slightly in surprise. The boys must have been hungry, since there was significantly less cheese than she remembered there being. On the bright side, Adrien was explaining the dishes. 

It was a mess trying to sort out what everyone wanted when Adrien had to explain _everything_. After faltering steps, Adrien held his chin in his hand, tapping impatiently. "You know what? I'll just order for all of you. I think I know what you would want anyway." Nino accepted this, but Marinette was on the fence. That is, until he had turned to look at her fully. At that point, she couldn't say much else besides 'yes.'

Alya was having none of it. She had picked a risotto for her primo since she knew what _that_ was at least, and after realizing that calamaretti fritti was squid, much like what she had the sushi place, she ordered it immediately for her secundo. Alya did at least acquiesce to Adrien's recommendation for salad side dish.

The waiter placed a red pasta dish in front of Marinette. She glanced at Adrien, sitting next to her, who had a proud glint in his eyes. She turned away after he winked at her. Looking at his dish instead, she saw thick, doughy dumplings. He caught her stare and said, "Gnocchi, one of my favorites when I go to Italy to see family. Would you care for a bite?" He pushed his dish towards her, but she shook her head.

"I think I'll have more than enough to deal with here." Across from her, Nino was receiving a simple cheese and pepper pasta dish. She smelled the spice coming off her own plate. "What was this called again?"

Adrien chuckled. "In French? 'Angry pasta.' It is a speciality of Rome. It is one of the only spicy dishes on the menu, so I thought you'd enjoy it."

She blinked, having not expected him to remember such a small detail. _Well, it comes with_ Adrien's _recommendation for me, so I better get to it_. Sure enough, it was delicious.

Alya had partially eaten her risotto when she broke the silence that had descended on the hungry teenagers. "So that play..." She was interrupted by simultaneous groans from Adrien and Marinette, who seemed surprised at each other. Alya continued with a smile, "I'm glad we are on the same page. As I mentioned, I will be tearing it apart. Piece. By. Piece." She took a sip of her water. "Anything you two want to add as fellow premier viewers?"

They spoke at the same time, apologized, told the other to speak first, paused, then both spoke at the same time again. When Adrien tried to play the nice guy again, Marinette buried her face in her hands and said, "Just go first, Adrien!"

He blinked at her outburst, but recovered quickly. "I hate how they treated Ladybug. She manages to figure out a use for the weirdest objects without fail. That takes some serious skill, since they are usually under attack when she has to do that. To figure out complicated plans and pull them off _moments_ after having the critical item thrown into the mix? Nothing short of miraculous." His dreamy expression was dispelled when he rolled his eyes. "And then there was the play version. They deliberately gave her items with obvious solutions and made her out to be an overthinker. The hell was that, with the weed cutter _helicopter_? No, it was awful."

Marinette looked at Adrien in awe. He... really went off there. And, technically, it was in her defense. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Personally, I think they did a great disservice to Chat Noir. His selflessness shouldn't be turned into a _joke_. And yeah, his puns aren't amazing," Adrien gasped, Marinette pressed on, "but he can be genuinely funny, and he is always light hearted even in dangerous situations. It is... comforting, that he seems to have such faith in their victory, as if it has already happened."

Alya nodded along, apparently in full agreement thus far. "Nino? You seemed to not totally hate it. Your thoughts?" At that particular moment, Nino's thoughts were probably of the single word variety (such as ‘yum’ and ‘noodly’), as he was halfway through with his plate of pasta. Feeling the eyes on him, he slowly looked up to see that, indeed, everyone was staring at him.

Finishing his bite, he asked, "What?"

Laughing, Alya responded, "What did you think of the play? You seemed to hate it the least, right?'

He nodded. "Yeah, it was totally a bad play, don't get me wrong. But it was so bad that it was almost inoffensive. Like, anyone who has seen Ladybug or Chat Noir would know that it was dead wrong, right? So you can't even really take it seriously. All you can do is laugh at just how _bad_ it is. I'm super bummed that this is the first big production of their story, but, like, that's probably why it was first. The better ones are taking their time rather than rush something out to take advantage of a trend."

They all mulled this over. She had to admit, it made sense. The entire thing felt thrown together, but the hype around it had been astounding. People were crazy for Ladybug and Chat Noir at the moment.

As they sat thinking, the secundo arrived. Everyone had the same thing – a poached fish dish. Well, everyone except Alya who had the calamari. Add in the side salad, and there was more than enough to satisfy even Adrien and Marinette's appetite.

"So..." began Adrien, "...I assume we aren't having a sleepover tonight?"

Alya scoffed. "We got class tomorrow, blondie, and I'm sure you and Mari would keep each other up again. You two are awful enough about getting to class on time already."

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, nervously laughing. "Yeah, it has been a weird transition, going to school for the first time. Even in my second year it is difficult."

Alya's eyes softened. "Well, I know I'm free Friday night. Are you, Nino?" She received affirmative finger guns and a wink as a response. "Sound good?"

His eyes widened. "Uh, no actually. I have... modeling... stuff that day."

She frowned. "Oh, that sucks." She pointed her finger at him. "I'll need to have some words with your dad about freeing up your schedule. Speaking of which, Nino, how goes the plan to adopt Adrien out from under Gabriel?" Poor Adrien had tried to take a sip of water, only to nearly drown in shock. Marinette patted his back to help.

Nino seemed completely unfazed at his best friend’s near death experience. "Sorry, babe. Turns out you have to be a legal adult to adopt people." He sighed loudly, arms on the table as he shook his head. "It's a bummer."

"A bummer indeed. Girl, does that mean it'll just be us three?"

Marinette panicked. _Truesight called Chat Noir and I in for our first training session that day. I can't go back on that. What can I use as an excuse?_ She looked at Adrien, who was started to recover. Realizing she still had her hand on his back, she hurriedly removed it. _Alya is still waiting for a response._ "Uh, I have some work to do on a, ah, project. Yeah." She glanced back at Adrien to make sure he was okay. Looking back to Alya, she had a knowing glint in her eye.

"I get you, girl." Speaking to Nino, she finished. "I guess it'll be a date then?"

They shared a brief kiss. "Works for me."

Before long, they had finished their meals and Adrien was paying. Which seemed to promise to become a tradition when they went to restaurants. Once the waiter left, Marinette narrowed her eyes at the stupid handsome boy. "Next time, we are going to a normal restaurant, where we can all chip in – _equally_."

Adrien grinned. "Maybe, but for now, it is on me."

 

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The events of the day had been exhausting, so the conversation died out without fanfare. The ride home was spent in companionable silence as Nino and Alya were dropped off. Marinette, being closest to Adrien's home, was dropped off last.

In the dim light of the street lamps, Adrien sleepily watched Marinette as they pulled up to her home. "Here we are, Mari."

She went to step out, but paused before she opened the door. "Tonight was fun. The play was bad, but at least we can laugh at it in the future." Adrien murmured in agreement. She squirmed. "And I didn’t want to sound ungrateful about you paying. It is flattering, but... I don't want you to think we only want you around for your money." He watched her. Was she imagining it, or was he more awake now? "I... _We_ like spending time with you. A lot."

Adrien smiled groggily and meet her eyes. "And I like spending time with you." He paused for dramatic effect. "A lot.” He chuckled. “I hope we get to hang out again soon. Maybe a movie night, even if it just the two of us. You have a big catalogue of movies to get through."

_This is going a lot better than it did in my head_. Outwardly keeping her cool, she responded, "I hope so too." Suddenly, it felt as if someone else was speaking. She could do nothing but listen to her own words come out of her mouth. "You know, it is traditional to share a kiss when parting." Her eyes went wide and she froze, uncertain of how to salvage the situation.

Adrien hummed and leaned forward from his seat. Marinette could have sworn her heart stopped. But he surprised her by pulling her hand towards him by the wrist. Gently taking her hand in his own, he placed a feather-light kiss on the back of her hand. Blues eyes met green. "Good night, Marinette." He leaned back and closed his eyes with a faint smile, oblivious to the emotions he had unleashed. 

In a voice barely above a whisper, she said, “Good night, Adrien.”

It felt like she stayed motionless for hours, but only seconds passed before she opened the car door and stumbled into her home. Her parents were long asleep. In a trance she found her way upstairs to her room, where Tikki darted out of her purse. Her eyes were wide as she watched her charge mechanically get changed and take off her makeup. Tikki tried to help by bringing her makeup remover wipes closer to her.

"...Are you going to be okay, Marinette? Cuz, I can tell you are kinda…” Tikki stared into her face from her sitting position next to the remover wipes. “...in shock right now."

Marinette came back to her senses. She looked at Tikki. "I think I'm fine. Right now. Gonna freak out tomorrow, I think. I'll add a freak out to my schedule, pencil it in for tomorrow evening. Yeah. That sounds good."

She crawled into bed sometime later after having switched into fuzzy pajamas, and feel asleep with warmth in her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooo now we are getting somewhere with this Adrienette aren't we? ;)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, cuz I certainly had fun writing it!


	11. The Fox and the Wolf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir have their first training session with Truesight under Master Fu's shop. The following day, an akuma battle leads to the meeting of Rena Rouge and Truesight.

Two days later, after school, Marinette found her way to Master Fu's shop as Ladybug. She didn't have Chat's stealth, but she was more than able to avoid unwanted attention. It helped that this meeting was scheduled at night – both so that no one would notice they were gone, and that Master Fu's shop would be empty of customers.

While creeping into the shop, she reflected on that moment Wednesday night. Again. Not that she was _obsessed_ over it or anything, but thinking back on it always gave her a warm feeling inside and brought a smile to her face. While she did indeed get to her freakout as she had scheduled with Tikki, she was left feeling happier. Clearly, _something_ was brewing between the two of them. Right?

The past two school days with Adrien had been casual. He had seemed a bit flustered when he first saw her on Thursday morning, but he recovered admirably. Now they were holding whole conversations by themselves. Conversations that weren't about much, honestly, but considering mere months ago she could barely get out a sentence, she wasn't about to complain. Slowly, she was piecing together the small likes and preferences and habits of this boy, things that no magazine or amount of stalking could ever teach her.

Putting these thoughts aside for the time, she entered Fu's main area, where the old Guardian sat sipping tea. Once he had finished, he looked toward her and smiled. "Hello, Ladybug."

She waved. "Hello, Master Fu. Is Chat Noir already here?"

"Yes, he arrived mere minutes ago. He already went down into the Founder's lair."

She thanked him and started to move in that direction when she stopped and turned back to Master Fu. “Master? How is it going, between you and Truesight? Things seemed... tense the last time I was here.”

His smile became a fraction more strained as he gently set his tea cup down. “Inside Truesight beats the heart of a noble hero. I've chosen enough heroes to tell. But he is very passionate. Prone to letting his judgment be clouded by his emotions.”

“Is that why he was arguing with you?” Marinette dismissed that it might have been something Fu did to anger Truesight. After all, Fu had been nothing but patient and kind with her, and he seemed to have extended this to Truesight as well.

“That may have been part of it. But I suspect that he held no love for the Guardians by the end.” The tension left his face as he smiled warmly towards Marinette. “But do not worry. We have arrived at a place of mutual respect and whatever animosity he had with my order has not been passed on to me.” He made a shooing motion. “Now go, young one. Do not keep them waiting.”

She nodded and entered the secret door, and began climbing down the ladder.

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The air of the large chamber still tasted stale, as if it had lain undisturbed for decades. Two archways – one along the north wall and one along the east wall – provided entrance into the depths of the mines. The cobblestone walls and floor reminded her of a medieval building, but it was the furnishings that Truesight had clearly added that made the room fascinating.

The rusty iron ladder she was entering from sat in the northeast corner, with the opposite quarter of the room divided from the rest by bookshelves and sheets hung from the ceiling. The gap between the sheets revealed a worn bed with old blankets scattered messily on top of it. Left of that space was a fire pit, with a bright flame providing the room's illumination. Along the walls, shelves and racks had been placed, most of them empty, but some holding wooden weaponry. Finally, to her right there was a circle drawn into the stones, maybe six meters in diameter, surrounded by three rough benches placed against walls, with a sun symbol drawn in the middle of it. It was in this circle that she saw Chat Noir and Truesight, sparring.

Her partner had discarded his normal staff – which sat on a nearby shelf – for a wooden replica. Similarly, Truesight, who was wearing the same grey outfit from their last visit rather than his armor, wielded a wooden sword rather than his normal blade. Their attacks were tentative, and calculating. They mostly circled around each other, searching for weak points.

Ladybug set foot on the ground, prompting Truesight to hold up his hand to stop the fight. “Greetings, lass. We were uncertain as to when you would arrive, so we decided to jump right into this.” She stopped by a table that was near the bonfire. A stack of thick tomes had been placed there, with one left open at a midway point. A quick glance revealed it was written in the symbols she had come to associate with Truesight.

Speaking of the man, he approached and glanced between her and the tomes. “Chat arrived in the middle of me reading some of my old journals.”

Her partner approached Ladybug, flashing her a sincere smile. “A pleasure to see you, my lady.”

She returned the smile before turning her attention back to Truesight. “Journals?”

He nodded. “Aye. When I realized my memory of each new summoning was wiped, I began keeping journals to record the events that I took part in. Partially to keep track of things in case they became important between callings. Mostly to remember the chosen that I have aided – and the crises that we have faced.”

“Do they... bring back anything? Do you remember anything now?”

He looked thoughtfully into the fire. “Yes and no. I do not remember them as a true memory, but more like a dream or a story that I have memorized. Some however...” His gaze became distant. “...some have emotions so strong associated with them they return in full force.”

Chat spoke up, having settled onto a bench nearest to the bonfire. “Some of those emotions have to be positive, right?”

“Many are, aye. The pride of heroes flourishing. Bonds forged in fire.” He smiled as his eyes were drawn back to the two of them. “And it is always pleasant to remember my children from ages past.” His smiled turned mischievous. “Regardless of what silly names they give themselves.”

Chat huffed. “What is so wrong about our names?”

“Nothing _wrong_ but simply uninspired. The chosen of the cat naming himself... black cat? The chosen of the ladybug naming herself... ladybug?”

Before the conversation could further devolve into childish taunts, Marinette asked, “You've mentioned that you try to have a name to fit the culture, right? So that means you aren't always Truesight. So what are some names _you've_ had?”

He scratched at his beard. “Well, some of the ones I've read recently name me as Chiron, Merlin, Imhotep. Almost always a mentor to heroes.”

She shared a glance with Chat Noir. They recognized a couple of those names, but before they could ask, Truesight clapped his hands together. “But we are slipping from the point. We have training to do.”

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Truesight lowered his wooden sword, which was barely holding on with all the notches and cuts in it. “Excellent, kiddos! I think I have a good grasp on your capabilities now.”

Having fallen backwards on the bench, Marinette couldn't offer any commentary on this, but gladly took the tankard of ambrosia that Truesight offered. She drank half before passing it to Chat, who was also in an exhausted state. She was already feeling better by the time he finished the drink. The duels and tests had gone on for what was probably a few hours, their mentor pushing them to the limits of the skills they had acquired.

Once they were restored by the properties of the ambrosia, Truesight stood and began pacing. “You are better than I anticipated, but there is always room for improvement. Especially with the powers at your disposal. There has been very little change from what the miraculous had granted you at the beginning of your calling.” He stopped pacing and turned to them. “We ought to continue these meetings with all of us, but I also think you two should each find time to meet me individually.”

Chat tilted his head. “Why?”

“So I can teach each of you about your specific miraculous.”

“Well, yes, but why? Can't we just meet together and split the time?”

“No, because you will need to detransform to accomplish it.”

They blinked. Marinette glanced towards the open corridors that led out of the room. Truesight had placed curtains over them but...

He must have caught her staring, because he responded, “No one is going to find us here. I painstakingly carved memory charms into the walls, so people will turn back once they start heading this way. Your secrets will be safe.”

Slowly, she nodded. “I guess that will be okay... Is there anything else to do today?”

He shook his head and they got up to leave. “Good night, kiddos. Get a good night's sleep. I know you both find that elusive.”

They entered Master Fu's shop and exited by the back door. “Well, it was delightful to spend this time with you, my lady. A shame we couldn't talk more, like during our patrols.”

“Don't worry, kitty. We still have tomorrow's patrol.”

With a lingering glance to each other, they split for the night, and Marinette returned to her room. More specifically, her bed. Tikki seemed as if she had eaten an entire bag of cookies with all the energy she had. Even in spite of holding the transformation for so long.

Still, questions could be saved for later. For now, she decided to take Truesight's advice and sleep.

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_...fading fast. He had managed to save them, but the cost was too great..._

_The other six gathered around her, heads bowed in sorrow._

_Tears came as the realization hit her: Truesight was dying..._

Tikki watched in concern as Marinette tossed back and forth in her sleep. She touched an arm to her chosen's forehead and her anguished expression faded into serenity. She frowned and looked towards the moon. She settled closer to Marinette than she usually did, hoping that her presence would help keep back what she suspected was coming.

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With a yawn and a complaining kwami, Adrien rose from his peaceful slumber. Surprisingly, Plagg had been content upon getting back to his house – for the first time since he had started being Chat Noir, Plagg had been perfectly satiated after dropping the transformation. _Maybe there is a hidden benefit to these meetings._

Before getting into his morning routine, he checked the Ladyblog. Alya was going to post her review of the play soon, and he was eager to see how she tore it apart. It was bound to happen any day now, and the longer she took the higher his expectations were for it. Minimizing the page, he went to start his shower.

By the time he returned – showered, hair done up, fresh clothes, and a multitude of other things – an hour had passed and the long awaited review, miraculously, was just posted. With a sense of glee that he was a little bit ashamed of he began reading.

One thing became clear very quickly. However upset Adrien had been, _paled_ in comparison to the fully awaken fury of the fangirl supreme. There was nothing that Alya left untouched or that she allowed to slip past unnoticed. Obviously, the story and its portrayal was ripped to shreds. But the advertising campaign, the set pieces, the costumes, the acting, everything had its own section to be dealt with.

The post was vicious. When he had finished he had reloaded to check the hits counter. His jaw dropped. It was vicious, and it was _exploding_ in popularity. Adrien whistled appreciatively. Well, it was bound to reach the playwright eventually. Hopefully he didn't take it too poorly. He slipped Plagg some extra cheese to be on the safe side.

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Several hours later, it was almost noon and the screaming began. Adrien sighed and Plagg snickered. “Well, this was the least surprising akuma attack we've had so far.”

“Alya might have gone a bit far in defending our honor, but that doesn't give anyone the right to terrorize Paris.” _Not that the defense hadn't been satisfying, but..._ “Plagg, claws out!”

Moments later he was propelling himself along with his baton, towards where everyone was fleeing. The itch of familiarity was bothering him from the back of his mind until it suddenly clicked that he had been here before. Twice, as a matter of fact, though he hadn't left the car in either situation. This was around where Alya lived. _Hopefully we find her before the villain does._

There! A fleeting glimpse of red hair. Then he heard a voice, not too different from his own call out. “Ladybug, I've spotted her!”

He blinked and looked around the rooftops. There was another Chat Noir! Except... well, this one looked like him, but in a bad Chat Noir halloween costume. Almost as if it had been made in a hurry, or possibly in the dark. The tail was held up by string, the bell was a gaudy accessory, and his sleek leather was instead represented by cheap plastic. A hair band with card paper cat ears finished the look.

This was annoying, but at least it would be satisfying to literally beat up the play version of him. Then he caught sight of the Ladybug the faux Chat had been calling out to. She was much taller than his Ladybug, and the hairstyle was at least correct, even if it was a bit longer than normal, but the suit (Oh for the love of-) the suit was seemingly made out of some sort of fuzzy red fabric with the Ladybug spots (made of paper) were taped on. Not even in the right pattern. Just... taped on randomly.

It was hard to take them seriously, even if they jumped with a similar level of strength and agility he himself possessed.

“Well, kitty, at least it won't be hard to tell the real ones from the fake.” He turned to see the real Ladybug behind him, amusement and annoyance warring on her face.

“True, true. I bet that the villain is the playwright who wrote that awful show about us.” Chat jerked his head. “Come on, we need to go this way.”

“...You saw that play?”

He made a gagging sound. “I wish that I hadn't.”

Her eyes were sympathetic. “Same. I hated their depiction of you. But what makes you think that the playwright got akumatized now? His play was last week. Most of the reviews already came out.”

Putting aside the fact that he must have been at the same showing as Ladybug at the same time – since he sure as hell didn't get a second show after the abysmal first one – he cocked an eyebrow. “Well, one particularly scathing review came out today. Do you follow the Ladyblog?”

Her eyes widened. “Oh no. He must be after Alya, then.”

“I saw her over this way, but our imitations are probably on their way too.”

Sure enough, they spotted where the faux Ladybug and false Chat Noir had gone, Alya scrambling out of the way of their attacks. She caught sight of the actual heroes of Paris. “Ladybug! Chat! Help me!”

This caught the attention of the fakers, who lunged at the real deals. Adrien caught his cheap counterpart by the wrist and swung him around, throwing him at the wall. He fell to the ground, groaning. Ladybug threw her imitation over her shoulder, where she landed not far from the other.

Shadows rippled off their bodies, running like water to leave two civilians in their wake. The pair of civilians were starting to groggily get up before catching sight of the liquid blackness forming in front of them. With startled screams, they fled the scene. Adrien watched as the shadows formed into a humanoid shape. It solidified and color returned in a snap.

The figure before them was tall, a little over two meters tall. It consisted mostly of what looked like an ostentatious black dress jacket with red trim and golden tassels over it. A tall black top hat completed the look. The animating force was not a physical person, but a black smoke filling the costume, red eyes glowing like embers. The bottom of the figure was simply a trail of more of the smoke.

It whispered to them, echoing strangely in the open street. “Such sorrow... they were my favorite pair of thespians... But the Showman will not be upstaged by such back alley cosplays as yourselves...” At that moment, more imitation Chat Noirs and Ladybugs appeared, at least ten of them with more on the way. The Showman himself darted away at a breakneck pace.

“Chat? I need to get Alya to safety. Then I'll go and find Rena Rouge. Can you hold out on your own?”

His shock morphed into confidence, if only for his lady's sake. “Certainly. I'll do my best to keep them occupied.”

With his partner retreating from the scene, Adrien did what he knew best – draw attention to himself. He ran straight into the middle of them, batting a few aside as he did so. “Come and get me, you knock-off copy cats!”

The chase almost ended before it had even started when one of the copies had latched onto his ankle as he jumped over them. He fell to the ground, but turned it into a roll and spun back onto his feet. Keeping his movements erratic, he fled the scene as best he could, always making sure he stayed slow enough that they could keep an eye on him. For a few minutes, this was enough to stay ahead of the game. While he was looking back, noticed that the pack of phonies had thinned out. He made a sharp detour into an alley to try to shake them off, but discovered that the other end was closed off by a squad of three Ladybugs. They were spinning their yo-yos into shields, slowly approaching him. He looked up to see a couple of Chats at the top. He extended his baton into a staff and prepared to fight his way out.

The rearmost Ladybug was decked in the face by a mailed fist, and fell to the ground, already out cold. Truesight stepped into view. Slowly drawing his sword, he walked between the other two. They tried to throw their yo-yos at him, but they got caught on his sword. A flick of his wrist shredded the twine as he charged forward, a swift kick to the stomach knocking one Ladybug to the ground while swinging his fist at the other. She was quick, but Truesight was barreling towards her. Without much room to maneuver in, she was slammed against the wall and slumped against it.

The newly arrived warrior faced Chat. “You need a hand, lad?”

He grinned in response as he turned to face the ones coming in behind him. “You have great timing, Truesight! Ladybug went to get help, so it is just you and me for now.”

Truesight stood beside him, facing the enemy. His tone was sharp when he responded, “'Help.' You mentioned 'help' for the last akuma. Who are we waiting on, exactly?”

Suddenly, Adrien felt uncomfortable. They hadn't told Truesight about Rena Rouge yet, possibly because she wasn't a permanent miraculous user. He had no idea how he would react, but Adrien felt like Truesight would appreciate the extra help. Still... Truesight could be unpredictable at times. Thankfully, he was spared from responding by the charge of the fake heroes.

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They were on the verge of defeat. Truesight was a great help, but there seemed to be an unending number of demi-villains. Adrien was being bound by two Ladybugs and Truesight was dog piled by three Chats.

Another yo-yo speed its way into the area, but this one wrapped around the ankles of the impostors, sending them tumbling. The threads on Chat loosened and he was able to break free. Rena Rouge landed next to the pile of Chats and started throwing them aside. Before long, the remaining fakes fled the scene, probably to regroup with the Showman. Those who had been defeated stood up, once again civilians, and offered thanks as they fled.

Truesight started to pull himself up, gratefully taking the proffered hand. When he looked up, he noticed that it was Rena Rouge. Once on his feet, he stared at her. “So. You are the Rena Rouge that I have heard so little about, yes?” His voice was carefully neutral.

The hero in question froze. Rena glanced over at Ladybug, eyes wide. She stepped forward to put her hand on Rena's shoulder. “Yes. Rena Rouge is the bearer-”

“Of the fox miraculous, yes. This much I now realize. I assume that you are the one who chose her, Ladybug?”

She blinked. “How did you know that...?”

“I've met her civilian identity and it makes sense why you would choose her.” He sheathed his sword. “But enough for idle discussion. This akuma wields considerable power, to imitate your physical powers over so many people.” He began jogging into the street.

Adrien followed after him. “As long as they can't use our Miraculous powers, it shouldn't be too tough.” He paused. “They... can't do that, right?”

“No. Not even with additional fuel from beyond can Nooroo truly emulate the powers of his kin.”

“Right. Awesome. But that still means we need to catch the Showman. But he runs away before we can get close to him.”

Truesight was staring at a poster as he murmured a response. “Even now, he is searching for recruits.”

Adrien read the black and purple poster: 'Casting Call for The Showman's Greatest Performance!'

Ladybug appeared behind him, reading it as well. “He doesn't expect people to actual answer these, does he?”

The armored warrior shrugged. “You know how delirious akuma victims are. He can barely tell reality from his own twisted fiction now. Regardless, he is being selective, despite his powers being able to affect anyone. Which works in our favor for the time being.”

They stood in silence for a moment. Rena spoke up. “Well... we know what he wants. Maybe we can lure him into a trap?”

She was more nervous than Adrien was used to from the typically bold heroine. She glanced uncertainly at Truesight. Ladybug waved her on. “Go ahead. Did you have something in mind?”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Alya Cesaire stood in the middle of an abandoned intersection, completely alone. She wrapped her arms around herself as she called out. “Hello? Ladybug? Chat Noir? Anyone? Where did you all go?”

Truesight stood next to Ladybug. He whispered, “Oh, I don't get named? Ridiculous.”

Adrien nodded in agreement. “And I _still_ don't get first billing. Why do they always call out to Ladybug first?”

“Well, this _is_ the moderator of the Ladyblog. It makes sense for her to call out to me first.” Ladybug hadn't turned back to them, still watching the unfolding events intently, but from the tone of her voice, Adrien could tell she was amused.

He was about to respond, but saw a shadow move unnaturally. His pointed and whispered, “There!”

The Showman had returned, with a couple dozen copies trailing behind him. “It seems your beloved heroes have seen that they cannot best the foremost playwright of Paris... You will pay for your addled critique!”

Her jaw dropped and eyes widened in terror as she turned and ran away – towards where the real heroes were. Alya tripped and fell mere meters away from where their hiding spot was, and the Showman hovered ten meters over her, blind to the world as he closed in on his prey.

“Now!” Ladybug dashed out of hiding, yo-yo wrapping around the villain as Chat swung at him with his staff. It connected with the villain and felt very similar to striking a duffle bag filled with clothes. The Showman was knocked down, now almost at the ground. Truesight grabbed onto him, arms pinning the sleeves of his ornate jacket to his sides.

Alya Cesaire vanished into orange smoke as Rena Rouge dropped the illusion and stepped out from the her own hiding place. Grabbing the top hat, she ripped it in half with her bare hands, and a black butterfly fluttered out from it.

After the akuma was cleansed, and the city set right, they shared congratulatory fist bumps all around – even Truesight got into the action. He roughly patted Rena's back. With pride strong in his voice, he told her, “That was an excellent plan, lass. You have a fair grasp of the powers at your disposal.”

She was shocked at first, but this transitioned into a wide smile. “No problem. Maybe I'll see you again the next time they call me up.”

Ladybug chimed in. “Speaking of which... it is time to get your miraculous back.” She put a hand on Rena's shoulder to guide her away.

Rena's face fell. “Right, yeah. Lets'-”

“What.”

Adrien turned to Truesight. He stood ramrod straight, helmet fixed on Ladybug and Rena. Ladybug was confused as she turned back. “We need to take back her miraculous-”

“Who the hell said that?” The almost paternal joy was gone, replaced by anger.

Ladybug bit her lip and glanced at Rena Rouge. “The Guardian, remember?”

Truesight growled. “All of you to his place. _Now_.”

“But she's never been-”

“ _Now, I said_. I'll meet you there.” He held his sword high, catching the sunlight in the blade. They felt as much as heard the sound of sped up thunder and a flash of light – then he was gone.

Adrien shuffled uncertainly. Ladybug was stunned. Rena Rouge looked between them, watching their faces. “Who _is_ that man?”

Ladybug let out a hiss of air. “Looks like you are about to find out. Come on – let's not leave Master Fu alone with him for too long.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

This turned out to be a wise choice on Ladybug's part, since they could hear the muffled yelling – mostly Truesight's – even from outside. Thankfully, no words could be made out. They navigated the halls to Master Fu's living room, catching the tail end of Truesight's tirade.

“-in the heat of battle? Really?” The warrior was slowly becoming less armored as he angrily paced back and forth like a caged animal. He had already removed his helmet, tabard, gauntlets, and weapons, which were all placed on a shelf.

The sound of the door opening drew his attention to them. He narrowed his eyes at the heroes. “And don't think you all are getting off the hook easily.”

Master Fu's patience was wearing thin. “Don't blame them, Founder. This was my decision.”

Truesight's head whipped in his direction. “ _Your_ decision was to play hot potato with an immeasurably powerful artifact.” He turned back to look at them. “ _All_ of you failed to tell me there was another miraculous bearer active, however technically that may have been.”

Ladybug stepped forward as Truesight went back to removing his armor, now working on taking off his arm guards. “Look – we didn't realize that you would be so insistent on meeting all the bearers. She isn’t called in often, and it honestly slipped our minds, since we have been so caught up in all the other revelations.” Her expression hardened as she placed her arms across the chest. “Besides, aren't you overreacting? It isn't like the miraculous ended up in evil hands.”

“ _OVERREACTING_?!” The sudden volume of his voice made Adrien recoil. He slammed a fist onto the shelf, shaking it. He pointed a finger at Ladybug. “What would have happened if Rena Rouge was brought into a fight with the Great Enemy? What if she was _killed_ by enemies she had no knowledge of?” That was when Adrien saw it in Truesight's face – fear, and worry. Ladybug winced, but held her ground. Perhaps less certainly, but she stood firm.

He took a shuddering breath, shivers going down his spine. When he spoke next, it was calmer, but Adrien felt the tension just under the surface. “I have a reason for being here. I can’t fulfill that purpose if things are hidden from me.” He started working on removing his breastplate, eyes locked with the floor as he continued, much more quiet than before. “More to the point, if Rena doesn't have her miraculous at all times, she doesn't forge a bond with Trixx. Without the bond, she doesn't grow stronger. With Hawkmoth tapping into more and more magic everyday, eventually Rena would be far outmatched. Even if it were just akuma, she would be…” He paused to swallow, unable to meet their eyes, “...defeated”

Silence felt like a physical force in the room. Truesight placed his breastplate on the shelf and began removing his plate leg armor and boots.

Master Fu took advantage of Truesight’s silence. “When I first made the decision to call forth another hero, the situation was much less dire. Hawkmoth had grown in power, but nothing like these days. I feared putting more miraculous into play, since, if we failed, that would make the loss all the more terrible.” He locked eyes with Truesight. “I have made mistakes as a Guardian. I have lost Miraculous. I did not intend to do so again. I apologize that we neglected to tell you about Rena Rouge, but Ladybug is correct. We meant no mischief by it.”

The warrior's jaw clenched as the leg armor was placed on the shelf. “I disagree with your decision, but I understand your concerns. You have been at this for longer than I had in my first guardianship, and you have done well, all things considered.” He pulled off his chain shirt and chain pants, revealing padded cloth. He turned back to the heroes. “But the time has come to make a choice.” The padded armor came off, revealing a plain grey tunic and trousers.

He gestured for Rena to stand next to him in the middle of the room. “You have two choices, Rena Rouge.” He carefully enunciated every syllable of her name. “You can leave the miraculous of the fox here. You will vow never to speak of what you have seen today. You will return to your normal life, secure in the knowledge that the heroes of Paris will continue their protection. The road before you is difficult, and no one will judge you if you chose not to take it.”

He pulled his crimson hair back into a ponytail. “Or... you can keep the miraculous, much as Chat Noir and Ladybug keep theirs. Trixx will become your guide and companion. You will join the others for training and you will learn the secrets of the miraculous that I hold. But know this: Evil is gathering, and I must be certain of the Chosen who will fight it. I cannot promise your safety. It is inevitable that you will get hurt, and you will be called on to make sacrifices for the safety of the innocent. Gods forbid it – and I would sacrifice myself before I allow it to happen – but you may even be called to give your life.”

A heaviness lay draped over the room. “What is your decision?”

Rena stared at the floor. “Well, the choice is obvious, isn't it?”

Truesight nodded, expression neutral. He reached forward, towards Rena’s necklace.

Her eyes shot up, and Adrien could see the _fire_ burning behind them. “So how often do we train? Cause I can do two or three times a week without much problem, but we are going to have _issues_ if you want me to listen to you rant like this everyday.”

Caught mid-reach, Truesight faltered. A wide grin broke out on his face and he laughed deeply, gripping his gut as his head tilted towards the ceiling. “Gods, I think I'll like you. In answer to your question, we will be meeting twice a week – once for the group, and once on your own. Do you have other questions?”

She took on a predatory smile that gave Adrien a sense of deja vu. “Yes, actually. _Many_ questions. Like, why has my transformation not dropped yet? Who are you, really? Who is he?” She pointed to Master Fu.

The next couple of hours was spent filling Rena in on information that had already been passed along to Adrien and Ladybug. Master Fu poured everyone tea. But it was her last question before they left that caught his attention. It was more vulnerable than the others, less self-sure. And it was a similar question that Adrien had asked himself, ever more frequently.

“How do you know I'll make a good Rena Rouge?”

Truesight smiled gently. “Besides knowing that you are a good and brave kid? There are personality traits that suit each miraculous particularly well. Yours is a good fit for the fox miraculous.”

“Okay, but what traits are those?”

He stared at the fox tail necklace she wore. “The fox represents deception, illusion, deceit.”

Rena mumbled, “Flattering so far.”

“Thus, the bearer must be one who understands the value of truth. An honest soul who would not abuse the powers gifted to them. One whose quest for truth has given them a deeper insight into the line between falsehood and fact. I have meet both your civilian and heroic halves – in both you have demonstrated this driving goal.” He leaned against wall, hands behind his head. “I am confident in your potential. It is up to you whether you live up to it.”

Adrien was fidgeting, he knew it. But he had to know, and who better than the one who chose the first bearers? “Do I match your expectations? Am I... worthy of the miraculous?”

Truesight seemed surprised, if the wide eyed blinking was any indication. But he recovered, eyes softening as he cupped Adrien's cheek. “Of course, lad. The power of destruction is not lightly dealt out. It requires as selfless a soul as possible to ensure that it is not abused. Not to mention compassion so that decay is not dealt out recklessly.” He glanced over to his partners. “I have seen how you act with others. I have no regrets with you being chosen. But the question of worthiness is only something you can answer.”

Ladybug stood with her hand on her hip, eyes still looking at him with some concern. He knew she'd be talking with him about that next patrol. But for now, her attention was drawn back to Truesight. “You may as well tell me what traits make a good Ladybug. Otherwise, I'll just be curious.”

“It takes a quick thinking, adaptable mind to fully realize the power of creation – the Lucky Charm especially. The ease with which you use these powers suggest you will excel in it. I am pleased to be apart of your journey.” She smiled at the compliments. “These traits are also what tend to make the Ladybug bearer become leaders.”

Before Ladybug could respond, Chat cut in. “He's right, you know. Today excluded, you make most of our plans. You're confident, and people listen when you talk. And you know I'd follow you anywhere, my lady.” He winked, she rolled her eyes.

“I'm sure it isn't _that_ common...”

Truesight shrugged. “Ladybugs tend to at least be the leaders of the miraculous bearers of the day. Sometimes, they rise to higher positions. Grand masters. Generals. Kings. Just something to keep in mind.”

“ _Anyway_ I have things that need doing, so I need to get home.” She turned to Rena. “Welcome to the team. We'll see about how you'll fit into patrols when we meet up next.”

After exchanging goodbyes, the three miraculous users left Master Fu and Truesight behind.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Marinette made it home without fanfare. Tikki was by her side immediately after the transformation dropped, more energetic than she usually was.

“I can't say I appreciate how rough Truesight was, but it is exciting to have another miraculous active again!”

Marinette smiled. “I definitely feel better now that I won't have to leave Chat by himself just to get reinforcements.” Her smile faded.

Tikki slowly hovered till she was in front her Marinette's face. “You are worried, aren't you?”

Marinette bit her lip. “He said Alya could've died, Tikki. How could I have lived with myself if that happened?” Her voice was cracking, and she knew tears weren't far behind.

The kwami patted her cheek. “It's okay, Marinette. He wasn't thinking straight. He just said those words because he was afraid. He is worried for all of you.”

“Is he right to be worried?”

The pause before Tikki responded was an answer all its own. “Maybe. But now all of you are standing together. It is no longer just you and Chat against Hawkmoth. Now you have Rena Rouge, and Master Fu, and Truesight. You can lean on them for help.”

Marinette sniffled, the tears drying. She stroked the side of her kwami's head with her finger. “Thanks, Tikki. You go pick a movie for us to watch, and I'll see if I can get some Christmas gifts worked on. With so many more teammates, there is a lot more work to be done.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Adrien returned to his room to find it as cold and empty as he left it. With his father busy preparing for his winter shows out of the city, Adrien was certain that his absence had gone unnoticed.

“Plagg, claws in.”

Normally, he had come to expect Plagg to be well-rested and agreeable after returning from being in Truesight's presence for so long. For the cat kwami to get in his face, scowling, well... Adrien could be forgiven for the startled yelp. “What the hell was that question?”

“W-What? Which question?”

“'Am I worthy,' you knucklehead? Are you serious?”

Adrien mumbled, “Well, I thought it was worth asking...”

“If I didn't think you were worthy, I would've told Master Fu as much. You.” He bounced against Adrien's chest as a furry projectile. “Are.” Bounce. “More than.” Bounce. “Worthy.” Bounce. “Of being Chat Noir.” The last bounce lead to him settled against Adrien's shoulder. He growled. “Stupid chosen...”

Adrien smiled, and patted his kwami. It was nice to have a reminder that his kwami cares about more than just smelly old cheese. He noticed that the Ladyblog was still up from earlier. _I wonder if she has posted anything about the Showman yet..._

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

As soon as she got home, she rushed into her room. Alya was taking it in – all of it. It felt like the entire world had just been opened to her. She now stood on equal footing with Ladybug and Chat Noir! She was a full time super hero now! _Granted, that whole yelling mess wasn’t exactly how I'd like it to have gone down, but..._

She eyed the physical embodiment of all these changes as he sniffed at the random assortment of food she had gathered from the kitchen. Trixx looked up at her. “Something the matter, my kit?”

Alya rubbed her hands together. “No, but... Freak out! This is so amazing! I can help out whenever Paris needs me now! And I'll get to be closer to my heroes! This day can't have been any better.”

Trixx watched his chosen vibrate with excitement, a fanged grin gracing his features. “I'm glad you like it. You're going to be a fun one.”

She watched Trixx try out some of the dishes in front of him, but he didn't seem too enthusiastic about any of them so far. “So... what do we do now? Is there more miraculous stuff I need to do or something?”

He giggled. “I'm your friend, Alya. We don't have to do anything. What do _you_ want to do?”

“Well... I have some video from when the Showman appeared that I need to get posted on the Ladyblog...”

His ears twitched. “The what?”

“The Ladyblog? It is a news site I run with all the details about Ladybug and Chat Noir...” Alya laughed. “And me. A lot more of me now, probably.”

His grin became predatory. “Ooo, trying to uncover their identities still?” He found the bowl of popcorn and started eating with gusto. 

Alya became uncomfortable. “Yes? Should I stop now that I'm one of the team?”

Trixx laughed. “I said you shouldn't reveal yourself. But you are more than free to try to fox out their identities. Just don't use your closeness to get information, okay?”

“Because it is wrong?”

“No, because it wouldn't be sporting.”


	12. Heroes' Holiday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien, woken by a strange dream early in the morning, makes gifts for his friend(s). Later that night, he meets up with Rena Rouge and Ladybug to train with Truesight. Gifts are exchanged, wine and ice cream are devoured.

_Placing the finishing touches on her spell, she gently patted the head of the small floating cat that was her familiar. The brew was nearly bubbling over, glowing a sickly green as she threw dashes of dried herbs and more... esoteric ingredients onto the concoction._

_She gazed out of her tower to watch the forests catch the last light of the sun. Soon. Soon, Arthur would fall, and his miraculous would be hers._

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien awoke in a cold sweat, Plagg still sleeping near his head. He put his hands to his face and tried to remember the dream that woke him up, but he only caught fleeting glimpses of the scene that was so vivid, so _real_ just moments ago. He checked his phone for the time. Four in the morning. And he was completely awake now. _Perfect._

Plagg stirred. “Turn that thing off. _Some_ of us still have a chance to get some beauty sleep.”

Adrien rolled his eyes, but returned the room to darkness. Plagg's tiny snoring rumbled against his blonde head as he stared at the ceiling. It had been two weeks since Rena had been permanently gifted the Fox miraculous, and Christmas was fast approaching. He'd gotten presents for his (admittedly few) friends, with one notable exception. He had been struggling with what to get Marinette. It wouldn't be so difficult, except he suspected that she was making him some awesome stuff. Because of that, he didn't want to just _buy_ her something like he did the rest of his friends – superheroes and civilians like.

Well, there was a second reason why he wanted to get her, in particular, something special, but he was barely ready to admit that to _himself_ let alone say it out loud.

Knowing her love for fashion, he had toyed with the idea of making her clothing, and he even made some sketches. The big problem was... well, they were bad. Turns out being able to wear clothing professionally did not confer the ability to design them. Nonetheless, maybe she would find it endearing. Like a child's macaroni painting. He sighed. He had to at least try before he gave up.

He clambered out of bed, much to the irritation of Plagg. The kwami changed his tune once he had the entire, warm pillow to himself. Adrien snatched his mostly-unused sketchbook off his side table and stealthily made his way out of his room. He didn't bother dressing up – he wasn't planning on going anywhere today until late in the evening for training with the others. He frowned. _We need a name for this team._

Mentally working on his names to present to the others, he sneaked into his father's typically unused workshop. There was reams of untouched fabric here, plenty of supplies, and, most importantly, a sewing machine. As he gathered up what he needed, he was reminded of a time, years ago, when he would walk into this very room and watch his father work. He hadn't been much warmer back then, but at least he hadn't minded the company.

Of course, these days, if he tried that, he was usually told that Adrien had better things to do, or that his father needed quiet so he could focus. One less connecting thread between him and his father...

He accidentally tore the fabric he was working on. He growled under his breath and started again. His father had made it look so easy, with his dexterous fingers practically dancing around the fabric, unerringly guiding the raw materials into beautiful pieces. Almost as if that was what they were destined to be from the beginning. It didn't surprise him that Marinette had looked up to Gabriel Agreste – at least, as the pinnacle of the profession she yearned to join. As she got to know him better through Adrien's infrequent allusions to his home life, she seemed to have lost a lot of her awe for his father as a person. At the very least, she didn't bring him up in conversation anymore, nor follow his fashion lines as closely.

Adrien frowned. Should he really be making people think such things about his father? He jolted as he accidentally pricked his finger. _I really shouldn't let my mind wander when I'm working. Maybe that's why Marinette plays movies while she works?_

He stashed that information aside with a proud grin. This task was already giving him insight into his friend's habits. Even if he completely failed to make anything, that alone was worth the hassle.

The opening of the door – and, more importantly, the familiar figure that stood there – made him reconsider. After all, if his father killed him before he could make use of this insight, then it probably hadn't been worth it.

“Adrien? What are you doing up this early? And in my workshop, no less.” His tone took on a more accusatory edge. “Rifling through my personal belongings? Again?”

Adrien winced. His father hadn't forgotten how he'd almost lost his book of inspiration – which, unbeknownst to his father, contained the accumulated lore of the miraculous. Adrien donned the proper expression when appeasing his father – cowed and deferential. “Sorry, father. A nightmare woke me up, and I couldn't get back to sleep. I wanted to see if I could use the time productively.”

Gabriel Agreste let his eyes slowly pan across the area that Adrien had been working in. His eyes narrowed at the several false starts that had been piling up beside Adrien, who grimaced as he waited for his father to pass verdict. “Why are you wasting so much fabric?”

He chafed under that question, some boldness slipping back into him. It wasn't a _waste_ – it was for Marinette. “I'm trying to make a gift for one of my friends. I think she is making me something, so I wanted to return the favor.”

His father once again took in the small pile of ruined fabrics, then looked back at Adrien. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and seemed to at last notice Adrien's sketchbook. “Is that the design you are working from?” He nodded. “Give it to me.” Begrudgingly, he did so. His father raised an eyebrow imperiously. “A dress, hm? You are finally motivated into fashion because of a _girl_ , then.” Adrien was about to respond when his father held up a hand to forestall him.

While Gabriel carefully examined the design, Adrien felt a sense of inadequacy bubble to the surface. _Why did I think this was a good idea?_ Gabriel made disapproving noises as he pointed out several design flaws. “Little of this fits together to form a cohesive whole. Certain structural flaws make it so that this dress would fall apart after a few washings, or vigorous use. It would also be inconvenient to wear. And you seem to have only a rough estimate of her size. Overall, disastrous.” He looked back up at his son. “Who is this for, exactly?”

Adrien, still reeling from the frank dismissal of his design, responded glumly, “Marinette.” Some of his energy returned as he expanded on this, seeing the lack of recognition in his eyes. “She goes to my school. She won your derby hat competition?”

“Ah yes. _She_ has a talent for design, from what I saw.” His eyebrows scrunched up in thought. “Didn't she wear the Ladybug costume that I had made for Clara Nightingale's canceled music video?”

“Yes, father.”

“It fit her like a glove, if I recall.” He narrowed his eyes. “Wait here.”

Adrien didn't respond and simply did as he was told, shoulders hunched and head hanging. He hadn't gone into this thinking that he'd make something to rival what Marinette was making for him, but now he realized how bad of an idea it was to have tried to do so at all. It would have been insulting to her to receive something so well crafted from her, only to give a shoddy dress in return. He sighed. Back to the drawing board...

Gabriel Agreste returned a few minutes later, an electronic pad in hand. “Thankfully, I still have the measurements for that design here. I can use those measurements when redesigning this dress.”

“Father? What do you mean?”

“If you still want to make this dress, then we are going to do it properly. We cannot have the Agreste name attached to anything but the most exquisite of craftsmanship – even if it is only meant as a Christmas gift. Give me a few minutes to rework your piece. I see you made it for use in spring, autumn, and winter?”

This began a barrage of questions as to Adrien's design philosophy, which, since it was largely nonexistent beyond thinking 'this would be neat,' he had to make up on the spot most of the time to avoid looking _more_ like an idiot in front of his father. Still, the next few hours were fruitful and most of the dress was complete by the time his father had other matters to attend to. Adrien was beaming by the end. It had been peaceful, and certainly had been the longest he had interacted with his father in a long time.

By the time he had returned to his room, Plagg was... well, he was still sleeping, but he had definitely been awake at some point in the interim if the cheese wrappings were any clue. He checked his phone. Ten in the morning. Still some time before his Chinese tutor came over. He pulled out a black mass from under his bed.

He had been surprised when he found the Chat-themed (i.e. black with lime green paw prints and some images of bells scattered across it) fabric at the store. He felt obligated to get something for Marinette, both as Adrien and Chat Noir, since she had gotten something for both of them. While Adrien could give her quality dresses made from Agreste fabrics, that might be too much of a hint if it came from Chat. So it had to be something simple and unattached to the Agreste name.

When he saw the soft fabric, he had been struck by inspiration. Hence why he was now sitting on his couch, making a tie blanket. He had been slowly working on it in his limited spare time, and it was almost done. Adrien smiled to himself, thinking about how he would now get the opportunity to watch Marinette's face light up twice when he gave her these gifts.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Marinette stopped to admire the beautiful sight of a moonlit Paris, the layer of snow giving an ethereal glow to the city. She tightened her hold on her bag as she continued on to Master Fu's shop. It had been a remarkable feat, getting all the presents she had wanted to make finished, but she had done it. Well, everyone except the newest member of the team. Rena Rouge would have to make due with what she could make at the last minute. Marinette allowed herself a smile. It might not have been the most labor-intensive gift, but something told her she'd like it nonetheless.

The cold and darkness made slipping through the city unnoticed an easy task. Despite the snow making her footing uncertain. And the cold sapping her energy. She yawned. At least this winter Chat would have someone to patrol with. She had felt terrible last year, when she had to cancel so many patrols at the last minute because the exhaustion made it too difficult to leave her warm, warm blankets. Who knew being Ladybug had downsides?

There! The shop was in view now. If she knew her kitty, then he would already be there. She'd bet that Alya had also beaten her there. They hadn't had the opportunity to meet with Truesight in the last couple of weeks due to the hectic holiday schedules, and even Hawkmoth must have been busy since there were only a few akumas sent out. Marinette knew that Alya would be eager to meet up again.

She stepped through the threshold, into a world of warmth and light. Her limbs were already thawing when she found her way into the living room. True to her prediction, she was the last to arrive. Truesight and Master Fu were playing a game of Go in the middle of the room, cups of hot chocolate replacing tea this week. Chat Noir and Rena Rouge were standing in a corner, with Rena's back to the door and Chat leaning against the wall facing towards her. He had a smug grin on his face while Rena seemed to be berating him. Because of his position, Chat was the first to notice her arrival.

His eyes lit up. “Bugaboo! You made it here not a moment too soon.” He swiftly crossed the distance between them, Rena hot on his heels. He threw an arm around her shoulder and leaned in conspiratorially. “Would you believe that Rena thinks she knows you better than I do?”

She locked eyes with Rena, who crossed her arms at Chat. “You don't even know the half of it, cat man.”

Marinette shook her head. “She knows more than you think, Chat.” He grumbled at this, crossing his arms petulantly. She turned to Rena just as she was shooting a self-satisfied grin at Chat. “But! Chat has been my partner for the past year. He probably does know me better.” She gave an apologetic shrug. “Sorry, Rena. You'll get there.” _I mean, Alya, you already know almost all my secrets, you just don't know my_ big _secret_.

Before Chat could gloat, Truesight called out from over his shoulder. “Good to see you, lass. And I'm glad you resolved that. They have been at it for an embarrassingly long time.” He addressed Master Fu. “And, as for you, I admit defeat. The round is yours, which brings us to a draw overall. Well played.”

Master Fu accepted Truesight's surrender gracefully. He stood up and motioned her inside. “Now, now. Don't linger near the doorway. I know the chill of winter lies heavily upon you.” He seemed to notice the bag for the first time. “Did you bring something for us, Ladybug?”

She nodded. “Yes! I made everyone something for Christmas. I figured, we won't be meeting again as a group until after New Years, so...” She placed the bag on the table, rooting around in it.

Truesight chuckled. “Aye, you weren't the only one to bring gifts. Sadly, Fu and I only have hospitality to offer.” His narrowed his eyes. “Well... maybe I do have something... I'll return in a moment.” He made his way out of the room. They stood in silence, unwilling to start the gift exchange without everyone present.

Master Fu turned to Chat. “You could go get your present for Ladybug from the freezer while you wait.”

Chat's eyes lit up and he disappeared down a hall. Marinette frowned in thought. _What did Chat get me that needs to be frozen? And just when I got warm, too._

Chat returned with a large tub of strawberry ice cream, his face split into a manic grin as he caught sight of her staring at it. “Don't eat it all at once, my lady.” He gave her kitten eyes as he handed the tub to her. “And maybe we could share?”

She returned his grin with one of her own. “I will consider it.”

Not long after, Truesight walked into the room reading the side of a glass bottle that he was holding. The glass was a piece of art by itself, looking more the trunk of a living tree than an inanimate object. He pulled the pale cork off the top and smelled the liquid that filled the bottle. With a hum of approval he placed the cork back on.

Turning to Master Fu, he asked, “Do you have glasses for everyone, by chance?”

“Of course. I assume this is the wine you were telling me about?”

“Indeed! If we are in the giving mood, then this is the least I can offer.”

Master Fu started the room, presumably in search of wine glasses. Marinette set her tub of ice cream to the side for now. She called after him, “Master Fu? Could you also grab some bowls and spoons?”

She started rifling through the bag of presents she had brought with her, pulling the three wrapped presents and one envelope out and laying them on the nearby table. Rena and Chat were hovering behind her. Marinette began handing them out. “A present for you, silly kitty.” He took it with reverence, but refrained from opening it just yet.

“One for you, Alric.” Truesight looked up from where he was fiddling with the bottle of wine, giving a gracious smile as he accepted the package.

As she slipped the envelope to Rena, she whispered. “Don't let Chat see your gift since it might clue him in as to who you are.” She winked and gave Master Fu his present as he returned with the dishes.

“Okay! Go ahead and open them.” The sound of tearing paper followed her announcement, tailed by a respectable amount of 'ooo's and 'ahhhh's.

Marinette watched Chat's eyes light up as he rubbed his new lime green beanie against his face, which also prompted his discovery of the two holes at the top. At his curious glance toward her, she held her hands behind her head in imitation of cat ears. Hesitantly, he placed the beanie on his head, which fit snugly – and didn't cover his Chat ears. Just as planned.

Truesight had been difficult to decide on. In the end, she took a nod from his gauntlets, which she had noticed had been very carefully designed to allow for the best finger dexterity. So she made him a pair of sleek dark red gloves with black highlights that minimized loss of motion. As he put them on, he performed a complex series of gestures. He seemed satisfied as he locked eyes with her and smiled.

Master Fu's exclamation of joy was the greatest out of all of them. He held in his hands a pair of very warm and very soft socks. With a small dance of excitement, he began putting them on. She suppressed a giggle as she watched.

She slid next to Rena Rouge, who was still reading the note she had placed in the envelope. She had been short on free time when making the gifts, so she couldn't make her something like the others. Plus, her best ideas were already used for her presents as Marinette to Alya. But! Knowing that it was the mistress of the Ladyblog behind the mask had given her a gift idea that only Ladybug could give.

As Rena read through the list of small facts about Ladybug, and some stories that the public hadn't been privy to, her confusion shifted to disbelief and finally excitement. Which brought her attention to a certain charm that had been included. It was a simple red circle with five black dots, much like the charm Alya already had on her phone. But the critical difference was that this was from Ladybug herself.

Rena's arm snaked around Marinette's shoulder and she pulled her in close. “Best. Gift. Ever. Though a bit cheat-y since you know who I am.”

Marinette wringed her hands. “I'm glad you like it. I felt bad since I didn't have time to make you something like I did everyone else.”

“No way, girl! It is amazing! And,” She leaned closer to whisper in her ear, “it puts me one step closer to discovering your true identity.” Marinette noticed Chat's cat ear twitch as she said this.

She pushed Alya away playfully. “You'll find that harder than you might think.” She gave a meaningful look to where Truesight sat, still curling and uncurling his fingers to test his gloves.

Rena followed her eyes and smirked. “Even magic has its limitations, girl.”

Chat approached the two and reached into his pocket. “I know this isn't that personal, but we haven't really gotten much of an opportunity to get to know each other. So I kinda had to make a guess.” He pulled out a gift card. Twenty euros to an Agreste clothing store.

Rena laughed. “A good guess, Chat. Any particular reason for the Agreste brand?”

Surprisingly, Chat seemed to be taken aback, as if he hadn't noticed what brand he had purchased for. He rubbed the back of his neck as he responded. “Well, I, uh, don't know much about fashion brands, so I went with the first one I saw. Is it alright?” Truesight, who had been absently watching this interaction, was giggling.

Chat shot a glare at the redheaded fighter as Rena answered, “No, no, this is fine, just curious is all.” She opened a cabinet and pulled out a basket. “And here is what I brought for everyone.” She pulled off the cloth on top, revealing a wide range of pastries and candies.

Truesight stared at the snacks, then finished filling the wine glasses. “A fair haul. Now take your glasses so we can toast for good health and good fortune.”

They took their glasses, but all three of Paris's superheroes hesitated as they lifted them to their faces. Truesight paused mid lift upon seeing this reaction. “My apologies. Is alcohol against your people's customs? Would this be your first taste of it?”

He seemed pleasantly surprised when they all shook their heads. Marinette explained, “I don't know about the others, but my parents let me have some wine every now again at dinner.” Chat and Rena nodded along. “But I couldn't place the scent.”

He laughed. “It is an elvish wine, and the fruit that made it is unknown to this world.” He took a sip. “It is also my favorite fruit.” He must have seen their continued trepidation. “Is there something wrong?”

“We hardly want to drink all your favorite wine. Especially if it is irreplaceable.”

He shook his head. “Nonsense. The bottle is enchanted. It will turn water into wine over the course of a week.” He lifted his glass again. “To fortune and health!”

All four of them repeated his toast and took a sip of the wine. It was sweet, with an oddly smokey taste, but otherwise difficult to place. Marinette hadn't tasted anything quite like it before. To her surprise, Truesight had already finished his glass. “I'm going to head below and make sure things are ready. Head down when you are done.” He eyed the basket of snacks that Rena had brought. “Bring the goods with you.”

When he left, Rena quipped, “If this is how we start each training session, I think I can get used to this whole superhero team thing.”

Marinette smiled, but Chat snapped his fingers. “That reminds me! We need a name for our team. I had brainstormed some ideas but...” He looked around the room, frowning. “...I think I forgot my notebook at home.” He finished in a murmur. “Dang it. I had some real good ones in there too.”

She tilted her head. “Is a team name really the most important thing right now?”

Rena nodded. “Yes, Chat is right. We should totally have something we can call our little operation here. Maybe not right _now_ but soon.”

“Right! If we wait, maybe I'll have my notebook next time.”

“Yeah, and Ladybug and I will have the opportunity to think up the name we will _actually_ use.” Rena flicked his bell. Master Fu watched this unfold with his face wrinkling in mirth.

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine. We'll bring our best names for the next training session and decide on what we want.” She finished the last of her wine. “Let's not keep Truesight waiting.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Adrien followed Ladybug and Rena Rouge down the ladder into the basement. He was holding onto the tub of strawberry ice cream while Ladybug took down the dishes and Rena carried the snacks.

The only thing that had changed since they had last been down here was the addition of some targets spread throughout the room – with Truesight in the middle of adding some more. They were cheap looking things, hemp bags filled with straw on sticks whose bases ended in heavy stones. Concentric circles were painted on them. They seemed steady and able to take a beating.

Truesight didn't look up from his work. “I'll be starting with Rena, then Chat, then Ladybug. After the one on one, we'll do a couple of team exercises. I'll teach you some basic meditations to do on your own, and then we'll be done here.” He stood up, dusting off his hands and looked back at them. “Sound good?”

As he walked towards them, Adrien took a seat next to the basket and asked, “What do you want us to do while waiting?”

He shrugged while grabbing treats at random. “Up to you, really. _I'd_ probably be eating. If you want, you can have more of the wine. Gods know that you won't get drunk off it, unless you down the entire bottle yourself.” He gave Rena an appraising look. “How well can you play the flute?”

She shrugged. “I used to take classes, but I haven't practice much in a while.”

“Start practicing. If you wish, that can be one of the things we work on during your solo meetings.”

Ladybug stared. “Are you saying _you_ can play the flute?”

He motioned for Rena's instrument, which she begrudgingly parted with. The song was short, and it flowed like a warm breeze, bringing memories of summer to the front of Adrien's mind. He finished and eyed the flute. “I was never _great_ with the flute, but I understand the magic of music.” He looked back to the heroes, handing back Rena's flute. “In a more literal sense, the notes can be used as the lattice of a spell. The fleeting, flowing nature of music makes it ideal for illusions.”

Rena narrowed her eyes in concentration. “So it is like I am weaving a net with sound?”

He shrugged. “If that helps you visualize, then yes.”

“But I can already make some pretty good illusions. What more is there?”

“You must discover that on your own. Suffice it to say that everything can be improved. Perfection is not a stationary target.”

Rena considered her instrument. She snorted. “So you are going to show me how to play the flute today? Gotta say, I didn't expect fluting lessons to be a part of my secret superhero training.”

“No, you are going to play a little for us, so I can see where your skill is at. Then, we will duel.”

She blinked up at him. “Duel? With you?” Her eyes drifted to the sword that was always at his side.

A smile tugged at his lips. “Don't worry, I will be using a wooden practice sword. And yes, I need to find out where your combat skills are at.” She was about to say something else, but Truesight held up a hand. “We have much to do tonight. Play.”

She seemed to chew on her words before obeying. She played for half an hour, Truesight stopping her at certain points to offer advice, all the while devouring the snacks in the basket. He walked over to a rack, picking up a sword, then walked into the chalk circle. “Are you ready?”

“What is my goal here?”

He grinned. “Keep up with me.” He charged forward, immediately putting Rena on the defensive. She held her flute up to block the flurry of blows, but some inevitably got past her. From personal experience, Adrien knew that while the suit absorbed most of the pain from the wooden sword, it still stung. For the entire few minutes they fought, Rena never managed to press back, although she did certainly improve her defense.

Truesight pulled back. “I can tell you haven't had your miraculous for many battles. You are unused to your agility and might, unable to use it to full advantage.” Rena frowned and looked aside, rubbing one arm with her free hand. Truesight placed a hand on her shoulder, and lowered his face to her eye level. “This is why we train, lass. No one can expect you to be a master already. Take a seat, it is Chat's turn.”

He replaced his wood sword with a quarterstaff. “We will be sparring for your session, lad.”

Adrien looked at the staff questioningly, while taking up a wooden staff for himself. “No side abilities I need to hone?”

Truesight shook his head. “The powers of the cat miraculous make you the primary close quarters fighter. When you unlock additional abilities, we can work on those. But for now, we will hone your martial skill.” He took a defensive stance.

Adrien still stood, relaxed, outside the circle. “And what do I get if I win?”

His expression didn't change, except for the slight tugging at the ends of his lips and a spark of mischief in his eyes. He deadpanned, “The pride of a job well done. Possibly a pat on the back.”

He considered this, biting his lip to prevent the smile from showing. “That's better than what I get at home.” He pointed a finger at Truesight. “I'll hold you to that, old man.”

“Are you going to continue to buy time by talking, or are you going to fight?”

 _Well, if that's how he is going to be..._ Chat stepped into the ring. They each tapped their weapon together, and waited for someone to make the first move. Circling each other, Adrien shuffling along, never taking his eyes off of Truesight. Adrien's patience wore out first, and he charged at Truesight with an overhead swing. Just as Adrien was fully committed to the swing, Truesight was in motion, twisting away from the strike, and dancing behind him.

He knew what was coming, and contorted his body to turn in time, just barely blocking the staff from striking his back. This left him wrong-footed, and Truesight followed up with swift but light attacks. The attempt to keep him in a bad position didn't succeed and Adrien recovered. He pushed back, but found no weak point to exploit – at least, not immediately. His opponent had swung forcefully, leaving himself open to a counterattack, which Adrien gratefully took.

This turned out to be a feint. With Adrien now, once again, committed, Truesight swept his feet and he went tumbling to the ground. He looked up at the familiar sight of Truesight standing over him, blunt end of the staff at his throat. He heard giggling to the side and shot a glare at the girls on the sidelines.

“You certainly have a talent for this, and you are improving, lad. Unfortunately, I still have decades over you.” He reached out a hand and pulled Adrien up. “Let's go again.”

And so they did. Six more times, each with a similar result. At least it took longer for Truesight to floor him each time. But just as Adrien would learn another of his tricks, a new one would be thrown at him.

“Eat well and rest. Ladybug? Your turn.” As she finished her pastry, Truesight took a drink from his tankard. His breathing evened out and he stepped more spryly.

Adrien's lady stood up to stand in the circle. She absently used her yo-yo as intended, sending it down to the ground and back to her waiting hand. “So what’s the plan?”

“Target practice and unarmed fighting.” He gestured to the targets in the room. “See the dummies?” She nodded. “Hit the ones I point out, and only them. Do so without moving from your spot.”

As he called out dummies from all across the room, her satisfied smile grew as she hit them square in the center. Or wrapping them to make them fall over, whichever the order was. At the end, Truesight was clapping slowly.

“Impressive. I am glad I won't have to set them up again any time soon.” He picked up the wood sword from before. “Now, your task is to disarm me with your yo-yo. Understand?”

“Perfectly. I've already done it before, after all.”

He scoffed. “Aye, but now it is just you and me, and I don't need to tread carefully.”

Her eyes blazed in challenge as she responded with a smile, “Yes, and neither do I.”

Truesight laughed. “Don't let that fire be extinguished, lass. It is your most potent weapon.” He took a battle stance and waved her on.

The yo-yo sailed towards him, only for him to knock it out of the air with the sword. She frowned and retracted it, but he was right behind it. Rolling out of the way, she started firing on the run, but he stayed close enough that her aim was being thrown off. This continued until she turned to throw the yo-yo, only for Truesight's fake sword to be at her throat.

He withdrew the blade and stood straight. “Which brings me to the next lesson – unarmed combat. I've noticed you don't have a particular fighting style, and I also notice that once the enemy closes with you, you are a less effective fighter.” He placed his sword back in the rack. “Let us see if we can remedy this.”

Her face settled into determination and she merely nodded. She placed her yo-yo back at her side and the sparring began.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Marinette had her hands on her knees, breathing heavily. It was a long fight, and one that was much closer than the fight with her yo-yo had been. Still, it was exhausting. Her only consolation was that Truesight was at least as tired as she was. Even so, it melted off him as he drank from his gilded tankard. He offered the last half to her, which she took gratefully.

Her breathing evened and exhaustion lifted, she asked Truesight, “That just leaves the group training now, right?”

He nodded. He looked at Chat. “Lad, what is the hour?”

In between bites, he grabbed his baton and checked the time. “Thirteen minutes past eleven.”

“We'll have to skip the group exercises for today, then. Time for meditation.” He took off his scabbard and placed it on the table. Returning the combat ring, he sat down at the far end, and motioned for them to take a seat along the circle.

Once they were in position, he began. He spoke slowly, and gently. “Relax, and close your eyes. Breath in only through your mouth and out through your nose. Focus on my words and nothing else. Imagine yourself high above the earth, drifting among the clouds. Your hands and feet are merging with the clouds, becoming faint and distant. Let them go. Take a deep breath and allow yourself to sink further into the clouds. Now your arms and legs have sunk into the mist. Release them. You feel the sun on your skin. Feel the tension in your chest like a physical force. Touch it lightly and release. Feel your core sink into the clouds, like submerging yourself in a warm bath. Allow this to fade into the clouds as well. Take a deep breath. Feel the clouds surround your face. Let go entirely. Let your mind wander, let it be pulled towards the sun. Reach out to it with your thoughts.”

He paused for a long enough time that Marinette began to suspect he fell asleep. Just before she opened her eyes, he spoke again. “Let yourself be filled with its warmth. Feel your face return. Will the energy through your veins and, feel it pool in your core. Sense the energy flood into your appendages. Accept the power, let it restore your hands and feet. Feel your feet touch the ground. Open your eyes.”

She did so, noticing the reluctance with which Chat and Rena did. Chat stifled a yawn. He stretched and looked over at Truesight. “That was relaxing. More than I expected it to be, at least.”

Marinette asked, “And we are supposed to do that while transformed?”

Truesight nodded. “Aye, that would be ideal, but if you get your kwami to meditate as the same time, that would be a good alternative.”

Rena frowned. “Am I supposed to feel different after this?”

He smiled softly. “Patience. This is strengthening your connection with your kwami. Like any exercise, one sitting won't change much.” He glanced at their faces. “I can see you are getting tired. You can leave now, if you wish.”

They rose, but Rena paused before grabbing her things. “Truesight? You know about all the miraculous, right?” He hummed in the affirmative with his eyes closed, still sitting on the ground. “What can you tell us about Hawkmoth's miraculous?”

He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Rena. “I could tell you many things. Like that the butterfly miraculous was the very first miraculous. I could tell you that Nooroo is a gentle and caring soul. But, I assume you want to know more about its powers.” He rose to his feet.

Marinette was both shocked and kicking herself. _Why didn't_ I _think to ask about his miraculous?_ She gave an appraising look to Rena Rouge. _Maybe there are benefits to having a reporter on the team._

If she noticed Marinette staring, then she didn't show it. She nodded. “Yes, if we understand his powers better, we might have a better chance at fighting it. Knowing is half the battle, right?”

“Wise words. Well, you know the gist of it – Hawkmoth uses emotion to fuel the transformation into a champion. He has been saturating these akuma with dark magic, to strengthen the resulting champion and turn them into villains. The fact that they end up like monsters is a consequence of this.”

He began pacing. “The butterfly miraculous, in essence, creates temporary, lesser miraculous, and the bearers are called champions. There is the object that the power is channeled through. The physical abilities of the champion are similar to those of a normal miraculous user. Even a memory charm exists.

Chat winced. “So the butterfly was the first and greatest of the miraculous?”

Truesight shook his head. “No. The Ladybug and Black Cat were the last and greatest, when used in tandem. As for the champions, all are lesser than a true miraculous. The object can be broken barehanded. A champion can be overpowered by a chosen. The memory charm only prevents immediate recognition and does not stand up under scrutiny.”

Marinette stroked her chin. “Are there any weaknesses we don't know about?”

He shrugged. “In my experience, its greatest strength was also its greatest weakness. It is wildly unpredictable, since the power of the champion is dependent on how unbound the emotion used was. And they are locked in the emotional state they were empowered in. When used for good, this isn't much of a problem since the emotions that fuel it are things like courage, love, and compassion.”

Chat absorbed this information. “But the akuma get their strength from anger and fear...”

Rena caught on and finished Chat's thought, “...which makes them difficult to control.”

Truesight nodded. “Precisely. The best he can do is channel it towards his own ends. But even so, the akuma tend to be more interested in their own petty vengeance than his goals.”

One thing had been bothering Marinette, however. _Well, a lot of things have been bothering me, but this one in particular._ “How does he know how to use dark magic if magic is so rare in this world? Do you think he found some sort of lost book from the Guardians?”

“I doubt he realizes what he is doing. It probably started small, just enough to corrupt the akuma. Then the Old Foes started gathering on the other side, wearing the boundary thin. Which let him unconsciously call on more magic. Which brought more monsters, and so on. Up until the veil broke and they started entering the world.” He sighed. “So it always goes.”

They digested this in silence. Truesight clapped his hands together. “Anyway! Go, and sleep. Your winter holiday is coming up, yes? It will be an eventful week for you all, I'm sure.”

They began filing out, Truesight following behind them as they entered the store above the mines. As they approached the back door, Rena stopped and turned to face him, “What are the traits that make a good butterfly user?”

Truesight smiled mirthlessly. “Empathy and compassion. Just as a good Ladybug makes for a great leader, a good Butterfly makes for a great diplomat. These are traits that we know Hawkmoth lacks. Hence why he has had to dip ever more into dark magics.” He waved them off as they left.

Marinette stopped her partners as they exited from the back door. “Are you two ready for the charity event in a couple days?” To be honest, she had nearly forgotten herself, but she wouldn't let them know that. The tradition was born in her and Chat Noir's first year – taking pictures with fans for charity. It had been a rousing success, and it was predicted to be even more of a hit this year. Especially since hype had built up that Rena Rouge would be joining them.

Both of her partners seemed besides themselves with excitement, but Rena seemed a bit nervous as well. If Marinette didn't know better, she would have simply thought it was nerves at the public event. But she knew that the moderator of the Ladyblog would have to miss out on this prime scoop, which had to hurt. Marinette hadn’t forgotten that Alya still had their framed picture from last year on her wall.

She took comfort from the determination in Rena's eyes as she looked at Marinette. “You can count on it, Ladybug. I will be there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Laptop is still not working and this was the last of my back log of chapters. I'm starting to get worried I'll have to type up the next chapter on my phone, which is hard just when doing short one shots, let alone my 5k to 8k True Sight chapters.
> 
> Sigh.
> 
> Wish me luck!


	13. Advice From a Parent, Love From a Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Behold! The longest chapter yet for True Sight, at just over 9,000 words! It was going to be even longer, but I needed to cut it off somewhere. Strap yourselves in because we are covering a lot of ground here.

_“Wise Chiron!”_

_The recently arrived man had the weathered look of a traveller, and the haggard weariness of a refugee. With the ongoing struggle against the titan spawn, such visitors to the cave the boy called home were common. He hid behind a stalagmite, Chiron stepping past him._

_Fog that a moment ago was not present now coiled around Chiron, and clung to him. Between the obscuring mist and the heavy cloak draped upon his shoulders, there was little to be seen of the legendary mentor._

_“Who calls upon my abode?”_

_“Lacedaemon, Lord. I lead the remnants of my village.”_

_“Why do you seek me?”_

_“My people have been driven from their homes. But three days march from here is a site that we may yet build anew on.”_

_“Glad tidings indeed, but none call on me when Tyche smiles and the winds are fair. What went wrong?”_

_The man nodded. “A titan spawn has made its lair there. We need a demigod to aid us in slaying it, but none are near. We ask instead for you to help us.”_

_Chiron stood motionless, and moments passed in silence as the man began to squirm uncomfortably before him._

_Still behind the rock pillar, he heard a small voice next to his ear whisper, “Chiron just does that for dramatic affect, kid. He already knows what he is going to do. Pass me some goat cheese. I bet I'll need it.” Absently handing some of the foul smelling food to the tiny spirit, he continued to watch events unfold._

_“You are incorrect, Lacedaemon. There is another demigod at hand. One who lacks experience, but through whom the ichor of the gods flows strong. Wait in the woods and I will send him with you.”_

_Lacedaemon bowed and hurried for the cover of the forest. Chiron turned and made his way towards his hiding spot, the fog dissipating._

_“My son, you will aid these people. Though you have only seen fourteen winters, one titan spawn will be a good test of your skills. Evoke Plagg’s power when you are ready.”_

_He stepped out into the open, took a deep breath to steady his nerves and calm his pounding heart._

_“Plagg! Claws out!” Elysium bronze covered his skin and the pelt of a great lion formed upon his shoulders. A club materialized in his hand._

_Chiron, the only father he had ever known, smiled in pride. “Go forth, young Heracles. Destiny awaits.”_

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien awoke, the specifics of his dream sharp for now, but rapidly becoming blurred.

He glanced at the clock on his wall. Four minutes before nine. His eyes, previously heavy with sleep, shot open. _It was that late?! Why didn't Plagg wake me up? We need to meet with Truesight in four minutes!_

He heard snoring next to his head and saw his kwami sleeping peacefully on the back of the couch they were both on. Adrien shook his head. _Both_ of them had overslept. He rolled off the couch and grabbed some camembert out of the fridge. Waving it in front of the tiny cat’s face, his eyes fluttered open. 

In a dreamlike tone, Plagg said, “Mmmm, gooey deliciousness.” He latched onto the cheese with his mouth, gnawing at it ferociously. 

“Eat up quick. We need to head over to Truesight soon.”

Plagg’s response was muffled by the cheese that surrounded his face. With only three minutes to spare, Chat Noir escaped the mansion. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien slipped into the shop without fanfare. Master Fu had waved to him from the living room as he passed it on his way to the secret door. 

Climbing down the ladder as quietly as possible, he saw Truesight at work over a notebook, a quill in hand as he wrote long paragraphs of text. Adrien fell to the floor without a sound and stalked forward. Once he was within arm’s reach, he put a hand out, only to pull it back as if burned when Truesight suddenly spoke.

“Greetings, lad. You are late. What kept you?” His tone was curious rather than berating. He turned to look at Adrien, revealing the sly smile on his face. “Don't worry. Most would not have known you had entered.” He gently closed his notebook. “But I am not most.”

Adrien rose from his stealthy crouch. “I had tried to get a nap in before training, but I slept longer than I was meaning to.”

“Ah. So your pocket machine _and_ Plagg failed to wake you?”

“Cellphone, and yeah. Plagg was also sleeping.”

Truesight chuckled. “Aye, that sounds like Plagg. Well, it is lucky that you woke when you did, then.”

“I might have kept sleeping, but a dream woke me up.”

Truesight looked at Adrien with concern. “A nightmare? Do you want to talk about it?”

Adrien thought about it. Yeah, it disturbed his sleep but that was for the best. Besides, it was just some weird dream. “No, it was just strange.” A thought entered Adrien’s mind. He didn't really have a lot of people he could confide in about certain things. Nino was awesome and all, but the most important things of all he couldn't share with him. But Truesight? “Although, there is something that I could use some… advice about.”

Truesight motioned Adrien over to the seat across the table from him. “If we aren't going to be training, you can drop your transformation.”

He must have seen the hesitation that ran through Adrien. “Or you can stay as Chat. Either is fine, kiddo. Just remember we are well hidden here. And we might need Plagg’s council.” 

Adrien wasn't sure about that, but nodded. “Plagg, claws in.” 

The kwami floated at Adrien’s shoulder, staring at Truesight. The silence stretched between them until a smile began to pull at Truesight’s features. “It has been a long time, old friend.”

Plagg shook his head. “Perhaps not long enough.”

Adrien was surprised at Plagg’s attitude. He had never seemed too enthusiastic when talking about Truesight, but he hadn’t expected him to be so… abrasive. For his part, Truesight seemed unbothered by the kwami’s words.

“Oh? Have I caused offense? Or is this less about me, and more about what I entail?”

“Both. You really are a tiring person, Alric. There is always so much _work_ when you are around. Plus, you only ruin the air of mystery that we kwami work so hard to maintain.” He zoomed close to Truesight’s face. “But we both know that your arrival is never a good thing.”

Truesight scoffed, and gently grabbed Plagg out of the air. “Don’t bullshit me, Plagg, we know each other far too well for that.” His face softened and he spoke more quietly. “You _know_ your kid is safer with me around. You are just upset that the situation was bad enough that I needed to be called.”

Plagg phased out of Truesight’s grip to fly onto the table. “Maybe. But I know I’m right about you causing us more work, which is always _so_ exhausting.”

“Your aversion to work aside, surely you remember some… perks… to my return?”

His eyes widened, and his tail twitched. “You already have some?!”

“Mmhm. Just finished a batch this morning. Be a good little entity and I’ll send Adrien back with it.”

Plagg growled and zoomed into Adrien’s shirt pocket, where he could feel Plagg angrily eating the chunk of camembert stored there. Adrien, who had been watching this unfold in stunned silence, felt curiosity drag him back into the conversation. “What did you make?”

Truesight turned his attention from Plagg’s hiding spot to Adrien himself. “You know Plagg fairly well. What do _you_ think he would be so easily bribed with?”

Without hesitation he responded, “Cheese. But he doesn’t get that excited for anything, even camembert.”

Chuckling, Truesight said, “Aye, that’s because this is magical cheese. Only I can make it, and magical food tastes all the better to kwami.” He leaned forward. “But you mentioned needing advice, and I assume it isn’t about the diets of otherworldly creatures?”

The sudden reminder brought a blush to Adrien’s face. Without a mask to hide behind, he felt exposed. But… he _did_ need some help… “Okay, so… there's this girl.”

His mentor laughed. “There always is. Are we talking about Ladybug or Marinette?”

Adrien threw his hands in the air. “That’s the problem! I fell in love with Ladybug over a year ago, when we first got our powers. But… I’ve been hanging out with Marinette more often recently. Both as Chat Noir and as Adrien. And…” He waved his hand hopelessly.

“...Now you think you’ve fallen for her too?” Truesight finished for him. Adrien nodded. He watched the older man with tentative hope, desperate for any help. As he stared intently at him, Adrien could almost catch the glimmer of mirth in his eyes. _What did he find so funny?_ “Being in love with multiple people is nothing to be ashamed of, my child.”

Adrien mumbled, “That’s what Plagg says too.”

“And Plagg is wise, even if he doesn’t show it often.”

“I was kinda hoping you could help me decide who to go after.”

Truesight put his chin on his hand. “I can’t dictate your heart to you, Adrien. This is something you need to decide on your own.” Adrien looked down at the table, upset at this dead end. “Both seem like fine people. In fact, almost entirely equal in personality. The question then becomes - who can you convince to fall for you?”

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I’ve confessed my feelings to Ladybug.” Truesight nodded along. “...And she said that she loved someone else.” 

He winced. “Ouch. While that isn’t a hard rejection, it does complicate matters. How can you win a heart that has already been won? And what about Marinette?”

This was a riddle he had been trying to unravel for a few weeks now. “I… _think_ she likes me. She told Chat that she only likes me as a friend, but I think it might be more than that. If nothing else, she thinks I’m cute.” 

“A good start. Better than your romantic relationship with Ladybug, at least.”

Adrien crossed his arms. “I know Ladybug thinks I’m cute too.”

Drily, Truesight responded, “I’m sure, lad.”

“But Ladybug and I have been through so much! We’ve had plenty of tender moments and I _know_ she is close to feeling something for me too!”

“But would she let herself?”

Adrien’s thoughts came to a halt. “What?”

“Ladybug seems the type to stay focused on the task at hand, aye? And if _she_ had two crushes as well, wouldn’t she go after the one that doesn’t interfere with her duties?”

He felt a pit open up in his heart. He knew it was true - he knew Ladybug too well to think that she would possibly waffle over this choice as much as he was. 

Adrien felt a hand on his, and looked up into Truesight’s eyes. “I know it is rough to hear, but at least now the choice is clearer, lad.”

“Yeah… and I _do_ care about Marinette, but…”

“...Ladybug was your first love, I know.”

Adrien shook his head. “It isn’t _just_ that! I've gotten close to her over the last year, gotten to know her, and I really do love her and she is my closest friend.” The words were flying out from him now and he couldn't stop them. “What if it was a mistake to try at all? What if it was a waste of time?”

They sat in silence for a few moments before Truesight spoke again. “Do you regret getting close to Ladybug?”

“What? No-”

“Then it wasn’t a mistake. Your bond with her is real and strong. Nothing romantic has come of it, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t worthwhile. Friendship can be just as valuable as romance.”

Adrien put his head in his hands. 

“And Marinette is a lovely young lady. You clearly have feelings for her - perhaps feelings as strong as those for Ladybug, if you let yourself.”

He thought of Marinette and smiled. Maybe there was something there. 

“Nothing I say can change how you feel, but just keep what we’ve said here in mind, alright? Perhaps you will find in Marinette something you have been missing.”

“Yeah… okay.” 

“Now, let’s get some weapons practice in so we can at least _claim_ that we did some training, aye?” 

Adrien smiled as stood up to transform.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marinette was finishing up the last of her Christmas gifts - and this one was perhaps the most important of all. Yes, the one for Alya had been fun, and her parents’ gift had been made with love. But this? This was a gift that Adrien had gotten excited over even the _prospect_ of receiving. Maybe this was the key to his heart?

She leaned back to admire her work and happened to glance at her computer, which was showing the news. To her surprise, she saw Chat Noir standing in front of the Mayor’s hotel, waving to a gathering crowd of fans. Marinette paled. “Tikki…? When was that charity event…”

Her kwami emerged from her spot up on the bed. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “What did you say, Marinette?”

In an increasingly panicky voice, Marinette said, “Charity event. You know? Photoshoots, autographs, all that? When was it?”

“Mmm… Today, I think.”

With a startled screech, Marinette grabbed her purse and threw in her carefully prepared package of cookies. Over her shoulder, she asked, “Are you full? Do you need anything before we leave?”

Tikki giggled. “No, I’m fine. Let’s go!”

She put the dummy in her bed and turned out her lights. One transformation later and she was on her way to join Chat.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien perched above the entrance to the hotel, waving at the adoring crowds who were ready to meet with the beloved heroes of Paris. As usual, he had arrived first. He felt a presence behind him, and he began to turn around.

He purred, “My lady, a pleasure to see you so early-” He stopped once he saw the orange suit. 

Rena Rouge smiled and winked at him, twirling her flute in one hand. “Sorry, lover boy. It’s just me. I’m a bit later than I was hoping. I had some… stuff… that needed to be arranged.”

He smiled back. “Don’t worry. We can’t start until Ladybug gets here anyway.” He paused. “...Lover boy?”

Rena started waving to the crowd while talking. “Well duh. Most of Paris ships Ladynoir.”

He lowered his voice to ensure that only Rena could hear him, his tail wrapping around him protectively. “Ladybug herself doesn’t.”

“Maybe. Or maybe not.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “But I’ll let you in on a secret: _I_ ship Ladynoir, too.”

Rena’s words hung in the air, taking time to settle into his brain. A warm feeling spread across his face. Before he had a chance to respond, Ladybug arrived, out of breath. 

“Hey guys! Sorry I’m late, I had, uh, a thing. Yeah. But I’m here now!”

Rena watched her appraisingly. “I see…” She clasped her hands together. “So! Ready to get started?”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The charity was going well. For a solid two hours, they had sat signing autographs, Adrien doing his best to catch glimpses of the signatures of his partners. He didn’t expect to learn anything from it - Adrien himself worked hard to have different handwriting as Chat - but it never hurt to get whatever information he could get his hands on. Perhaps by combining the Ladyblog with his own inside knowledge, he might at long last figure out the identity of Ladybug! And Rena Rouge!

...He could hope.

Thinking of the Ladyblog reminded Adrien that he hadn’t actually seen Alya yet tonight. Normally, she was at the scene of every event that Ladybug and him were a part of. Even during akuma attacks, she could be found recording everything. He frowned. Although… recently she hadn’t been at nearly as many attacks. He would have thought she’d have worked even harder to be there, since a new heroine was active.

“What's up with you, Chat? Daydreaming, again?” Rena’s voice pierced his thought process. He was brought back to the present, where they sat in a dining room removed from the crowds. The mayor had provided them with sandwiches and drinks.

“Oh, I was just wondering where Ladybug’s second biggest fan was. She usually attends all these events.”

“Second biggest?”

“I don’t think you’ve meet her yet, Rena. She’s the moderator of the Ladyblog.” 

With a strangely irritated tone, Rena responded, “ _She’s_ the second biggest? And just who would be her biggest fan?!”

Adrien lazily looked over to her, lowering his sandwich as he met her eyes. He cocked an eyebrow. “Me, of course. Sorry, I guess that makes you third.”

Giggling drew his eyes to his left. Ladybug was covering her mouth to stifle her laughter. He felt his heart skip a beat when she looked at him with affection. “This is a very silly thing to fight over, Chat. But then again, you _are_ my silly kitty.”

Rena, out of Ladybug’s sight, glanced between the two of them, giving Adrien a knowing look.

Ladybug followed his glare and only saw Rena taking a sip of her drink. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marinette thought that everything was going remarkably well. The mayor had clearly put more effort into organizing this better than last year’s event, and the photoshoot was proceeding much more smoothly. So when things started going… well not wrong, but definitely not according to plan, it had to come in increments.

There was a lull in the crowd. There was no longer a teeming horde of people, and the wait time for people on the streets to meet them shrunk to a mere few minutes. This helped give Marinette a false sense of security. Rena Rouge got swarmed with a bunch of school kids wanting to take pictures with her. Chat took the opportunity to sneak away and recharge his kwami. Not long after, none other than Adrien Agreste walked through the doors.

But Marinette had worked on this! She was friends with Adrien! They held conversations like normal people!

He approached her nervously and gave a little wave. “H-hi, Ladybug! I don’t know if you remember me? You’ve saved me a couple of times.”

“How forget you could I? I mean - How could I forget you?” He began to blush and gave a nervous smile. She pinched the bridge of her nose to help pull herself together. “What can I do for you?”

He gave her a curious look. “Well… _it_ is a photoshoot, right?”

Marinette’s eyes widened and she felt like smacking her forehead. _Duh, Marinette. What else would he be here for?_ “Oh! Right, right.” She suddenly remembered his interest in Chat Noir. “I’m sorry, Chat’s recharging. If you want to wait for him, I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”

To her surprise, he held out his hands as if to ward off the idea. “No! No, that's okay. I’m actually just here for, uh, for you.”

Hearing _Adrien Agreste_ say that about her set her heart into overdrive, even if he was talking to Ladybug. She just hoped that the blush that she felt didn’t show as clearly on her face as she thought it did. Eventually, she squeaked out some words. “O-Okay!”

He got close to her, smiling at the camera with an arm around her shoulder. She had seen enough Adrien smiles to be something of a connoisseur, and this was no ‘model smile’ that he wore at work. This was genuine glee, and he walked away holding those photos as if they were priceless treasures. She watched him go.

Eventually, she noticed the look Rena was giving her, the narrowed eyes and piercing stare. “What?”

“Don’t get too friendly with blondie, girl. Someone’s already got her sights on him, for your information.”

Marinette felt a surge of jealousy before she realized who exactly she was talking to. For a moment she was preparing to fight over Adrien with _herself_. But it warmed her heart to know that Alya would be willing to go against Ladybug on Marinette’s behalf. Touching, but hilarious.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Rena.”

Chat returned not long after, just in time for one of their last guests - Nino. Any lingering tension from Rena melted away as she tried to pretend not to recognize him. “What can we do for you, handsome?”

He tipped his cap to them. “Sup, dudes! I’m on official Ladyblog business.”

Chat raised an eyebrow. “Something wrong with Alya?”

“She called me earlier today, told me she was really sick. It was a major bummer. Even worse, my main man Adrien didn’t answer my calls, so I’ve kinda been here alone for a while now.”

Marinette thought about telling him that Adrien was just here, but decided against it. She didn’t know why he hadn’t responded to Nino, and she didn’t want to cause drama. 

Chat, on the other hand, seemed torn up about this. “I’m sorry, man. I’m sure he was just busy tonight.”

“Don’t sweat it, dude. I got some questions here for you guys, though, if you could answer them?”

Most of the questions were directed to Rena Rouge, which Marinette supposed made sense. Alya had to provide information on herself somehow. Otherwise, people might get suspicious. Nino left with the new Ladyblog banner in hand - a picture with all three heroes striking poses - and enough content to fuel several posts for the Ladyblog.

Marinette smiled as he began to leave. “Alya is lucky to have you as her boyfriend, Nino.”

He blushed, but managed to say, “Aw, thanks dude. Between you and me, it has been kinda hard recently. With all this stuff happening in the city, she has been super busy with the blog. But I do what I can to help her out, you know?” He waved and left.

Rena was giving her an appraising look. “How’d you know they were dating?”

Inside, Marinette panicked. Outside, Ladybug kept her calm. “It seemed pretty obvious, from the way he talked about her. Call it intuition. Anyway, I’ll see you all after Christmas, okay?”

It would be a few days before the final tally was calculated, but they all left feeling proud of their actions tonight. Not to mention drained after the six hour long event. By the time Marinette got home, she was cuddling the pillow dummy in her bed and immediately fell asleep. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

_“Is it really possible?”_

_He directed the question towards the only other occupant of the ramshackle hut, hidden deep in the forest. A variety of strange herbs, dried flowers, bones, and feathers hung from the ceiling. Shelves filled with books - books! - packed the walls, more than the boy had ever seen before. A cast iron cauldron squatted in the middle of the room, boiling a pale blue liquid, not unlike the eyes of the old man before him._

_“All things are possible, child. Especially now with the miraculous you possess.” He stroked his snow white beard that reached to his stomach as he watched the boy before him._

_“But… there has to be another! I'm just a farmer’s son. I'm not cut out to be a hero!”_

_The raiders had thrived in the generation since the empire’s fall. Their dark magic had set fire to many villages. Including his own…_

_The painful memories were brushed away as the old man put a gnarled hand on his shoulder. “Tikki and I have faith in you, lad. History often turns upon a single hero.”_

_“I'm just one person! How can I possibly be up to this task?”_

_“You are not alone. I am here. In time, perhaps there will be others.”_

_“But I don't even know your name!”_

_“It has been years since any have asked. In years past, I was called Ambrosius. But you may call me Merlin.”_

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marinette woke up to a buzzing sound near her face. She froze for a moment, taking in the unfamiliar space. Wasn't she just somewhere else entirely? No - There was Tikki on her stomach. She looked around again, and saw her room, dimly lit by the early dawn. Her face furrowed in confusion. _Where did I think I was?_

She found the source of the buzzing - she had received a text message, probably Alya. She put her phone aside for the moment to get dressed. Alya could wait for a little bit. She tenderly scooped up Tikki and put her back down on her pillow, without waking her. 

Now a bit more awake, Marinette checked her phone. 

She did not have a new text from Alya. 

She _did_ have a text from Adrien.

In her sudden panic, she nearly dropped her phone. She took a deep breath and opened the message.

**Adrien:** Hey, have you already left? I still need to give you your Christmas present.

_I wasn't aware I was going anywhere._ Then the second half of his sentence hit her. _Adrien_ got _her_ a gift?! Excitement overwhelmed trepidation and she texted back.

**Marinette:** No, I'm staying home today. What's up?

He started writing a message. Then started over. After a couple minutes of waiting anxiously, she got her response.

**Adrien:** Oh! Mari, I'm sorry I meant to text nino. 

Disappointment flooded through her as she came down from her high. _Of course he wasn't talking about me…_

**Adrien:** But since I have you here, i also have some stuff for you too.

It really can't be healthy to alternate emotions so hard, but Marinette couldn't bring herself to care about that right now. But there was something bothering her. They had all agreed to meet up before New Years to exchange gifts. Why did Adrien want to give Nino his stuff now?

**Marinette:** That’s awesome! I have some stuff for you too! But, I thought we were meeting after Christmas to exchange presents?

It took a few minutes before she received her next text. She watched him start and stop repeatedly before he sent it to her.

**Adrien:** Father is out of the city for Christmas, and to be honest I'm getting pretty bored here. I wanted to go hang at Nino’s before they left.

**Marinette:** I'm so sorry, Adrien! I can't believe he would do that. 

**Adrien:** I can, but don't worry. I'll be fine, I'll at least be home for the holidays. Better than working through them, right?

A horrifying thought came to Marinette, an image of a sad Adrien sitting at an empty table during Christmas.

**Marinette:** Adrien Agreste, you are not spending Christmas alone. I'll ask my parents but I'm sure they'll let you come over. 

This time his text was immediate, but that did nothing to quell the righteous anger she was feeling.

Adrien: It's okay, Mari, I don't want to bother you or your family. 

**Marinette:** Okay, now I'm taking away your choice in the matter. Be over here at noon tomorrow. Bring a change of clothes. We can have a sleepover. 

**Adrien:** Are you sure? 

Marinette: Of course! And you were the one saying we needed to have a movie night.

Ten minutes passed before he responded, the brevity of the message only underscoring the emotion she felt behind it.

**Adrien:** Thank you, Mari. So much.

It would be another hour when it sunk in what exactly she had done. She and Adrien. Mostly alone. And having a sleepover. The strangled screeching was just enough to wake Tikki up, who then had her hands full helping Marinette calm down. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien put down his phone and walked to his father's workshop. He didn't bother being stealthy, both because he was going to get something of his, and because his father wasn't even at home. Once inside, he opened a garment bag hanging on a hook and opened it. 

The dress was beautiful. It wasn't extravagant enough for truly high class events, but it was beautiful nonetheless. He smiled as he envisioned Marinette’s reaction to it. He froze as he remembered that she would be giving him more than just a dress.

“Stupid, stupid!” He mumbled to himself and returned to his room pacing. 

Plagg yawned and floated towards the middle of where Adrien was walking. “What's got you all tangled up, kid?”

“My present for Marinette! It isn't enough, Plagg! She is making a bunch of stuff for me _by hand_ and all I've done is have my father turn my crappy design into something presentable.”

He flopped down onto his computer chair. Plagg said from somewhere near his ear, “Well, maybe you can get her something extra. _I_ recommend cheese. Fastest way to someone’s heart.”

“Something extra…?” Adrien considered this. Maybe he could get something else that went with the dress. He spared a glance at his computer monitor, where a picture of his mother smiled back at him. An idea began to take form. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

A couple hours later, Adrien arrived at a jewelry store just as it began to open. It was good he had this idea now. They would be closing early today for Christmas Eve. Which he would be spending at Marinette’s...

His mouth ran on autopilot when a salesperson came up to him. He began to think about what to get Marinette. As much as he felt she deserved it, even he didn't have the money to buy her everything here.

A necklace or earrings should be good. Although, if they are earrings, they'll have to be _very_ good. She has a strange attachment to her plain black ones, after all. 

He thought back to his mother. _She_ would know what to do; she had excellent taste with these things. Hell, she'd probably adore Marinette. She was everything that mom loved in a person - spunky, creative, and most of all, kind. She was the one who taught him how to treat people. Although those lessons weren't finished by the time she… vanished, he hoped he had been a good student. As for making friends, Marinette had been teaching him plenty. 

The smile on his face faded and eventually disappeared entirely when he realized that they would never get a chance to meet. He took a deep breath to avoid tearing up in the store. Instead of dwelling on those thoughts, he put all his attention towards finding something for Marinette. 

It quickly became clear that he was in way over his head. There was far too many things to choose from here and he kept falling back into the idea of just buying everything. 

_Okay. Think about this. Which of these would Mom wear?_

With this new measure to test them against, he had much more success. He remembered his mom’s favorite stone - opal. He made sure that everything that made it into his final cut had them. Another memory surfaced. A younger Adrien was being cradled in her arms. He promised to get her a sparkling golden bracelet, only for her to laugh and say, while running her fingers through his hair, “I have all the gold I'll ever need, Sunshine.”

He bit his cheek to keep focused and struggled to not tear up. But at this point, they would have been happy tears - he hadn’t allowed himself to dwell on his mother for this long since the first few months she was missing. 

Silver for the jewelry then. 

He narrowed it down to a choker and a pair of earrings. After much internal debating, he shrugged his shoulders. He could afford both. 

He left the store humming the lullaby that had given him his nickname. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

An hour later, Adrien walked to Marinette’s house, carefully cradling her gift in his arms. He entered the bakery, and called out, “Hello? It's Adrien.”

He heard what he could swear was his name repeated several stories up, the sound of something heavy falling and a general scrambling. He nodded. That must be Marinette then. 

While he was waiting for her, Adrien walked further into the house where he found Tom and Sabine sitting in the living room with steaming cups of hot chocolate. Both of them were wearing absolutely hideous looking sweaters and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it. 

Sabine’s eyes lit up when she saw him through the doorway. “Oh, hello dear! Marinette will be down in just a minute.” She stood up to place a hand on his shoulder. “I'm glad you could join us. I can't imagine being alone for the holidays.”

Tom followed Sabine as Adrien responded. “Oh, don't worry! My father is usually very busy, I'm used to it by now.”

This did not have the reassuring affect that Adrien had been hoping for. Instead, they shared worried glanced. Tom added, “Well, you don't have to be used to it anymore, son. You are welcome here anytime.” 

They seemed to notice the package Adrien was carrying for the first time. Sabine asked, “What have you got there?”

He shuffled his feet, a bit embarrassed and the words came out of his mouth a bit quicker than intended. “Oh, uh, just a present I got for Marinette. My father and I made it. Well, at least the dress we made. The accessories I bought earlier today.”

Surprise dawned on their faces, but not before Marinette came down the stairs. She was also wearing a sweater, though this one hung off one shoulder and was baggy on her. Grey yoga pants completed the relaxed look. She was halfway down before she noticed the dress bag in his arms. Her eyes went wide and wonder entered her voice. “Adrien, what is that?”

He shuffled nervously. The moment of truth was about to arrive. “It's your present. I made it myself. Kinda? My father helped. After I tried a lot and it didn't work. Surprise?” He gave a timid smile when she continued to not react. “Mari?”

She jolted out of her stupor. “Stuff, also, have. For you?” She turned around and headed back upstairs. He glanced back at her parents, who were holding back smiles unsuccessfully. 

When she came back, she was holding a wrapped box and a jacket on a hanger. The black jacket was stylish with lime green trim. Normally, cat ears sewn into the hood were not the height of fashion, but Marinette had managed to find a way to make it so anyway. He stared at it in marvel before he realized it was just half of the gifts she was handing him. Swapping the dress bag for the box, he meticulously tore into it, finding a soft ladybug-themed onesie. _She remembered…_

But now he got the pleasure that he had been waiting for - watching Marinette look at her present that he had spent so much time worrying over. 

First, she took out the dress. It was a raspberry colored dress with three quarters length sleeves. The boat neckline would perfectly accentuate the choker he had bought to go with it. At the waist was an elastic, light pink sash sewn into the dress itself. The dress was long enough to fall just above her knees.

The little gasp was both adorable and deeply satisfying. The widening of her eyes he viewed as a good sign. Then she found the jewelry, and he was still feeling hopeful. But then she started crying and suddenly he was in uncharted waters. 

She held up the earrings to the light, and he heard dual gasps from beside him. The silver circles edged with cubic zirconium caught the light amazingly, but it was the dangling opals that truly drew the eye. The reaction to the choker on a silver chain and opal as its centerpiece was subdued by comparison, but for a long moment they were stunned into silence. 

Marinette set them down and stumbled toward Adrien, still crying. Paralyzed with uncertainty, he stood still until she had walked up to him and hugged him tightly around the waist. He awkwardly patted her back. Eventually she regain the ability to speak, in a warbly, stuttering way.

“A-Adrien, it's too much. The, the dress is beautiful, I love it, but you sh-shouldn't have gotten the jewelry, _especially_ not two!” 

“Well, I knew you were going to _make_ me something great. I knew I couldn't get you something as good, but I was hoping to get close.”

She pulled back, now bunching his now slightly damp shirt up in her fists. She shook him lightly. “You silly boy! I can't accept all this! It is too much!” 

This wasn't going quite like he planned. He tried not to look too disheartened. “O-okay.”

She frowned as she watched his face, her eyes red with the crying fit. She sighed. “I'll accept the dress, but only because you made it! I don't want you to get in the habit of spending so much on me.” The silence stretched until Marinette realized she was still gripping Adrien’s shirt and leaped away from him as if he burned her. 

Adrien coughed and said, “So… what's with the sweaters?” 

Tom, who had been watching the events unfold bemusedly, responded, “It's a family tradition here. We all wear an ugly sweater for Christmas Eve.” 

Adrien glanced down at his rumpled, damp shirt. “...Do you have a spare i could use?”

Tom put a finger to his chin. “Well, you are too tall for one of Sabine’s or Marinette’s. And mine would be more like a blanket for you.” He turned to Sabine. “Do we still have the one your brother wore when he was here a few years ago?”

“I don't know. We could go check, I suppose.”

“Yes, let's.”

Marinette’s parents left the hallway they had all been congregating in, leaving Marinette and Adrien all alone. They awkwardly avoided each other's gaze.

“Listen I'm-” “I'm sorry-”

They started talking at the same time. Marinette recovered first. “Adrien, why would you be sorry? It is a lovely gift, it was just… way too much money to spend on me.”

“I didn't mean to upset you, I just wanted to get something that you'd like.”

She brushed his cheek with her thumb, eyes distant. “I know… I know.” She snapped out of her reverie and looked everywhere but him. “So, uh, we can hang out in my room for a while. Once my parents go to bed, we can use the living room for a movie marathon.”

He nodded and followed her up the stairs to her room, dropping his duffle bag on her floor as he entered. “I brought a few movies from my collection, just in case you were interested.”

She stopped and turned around. “Really? What did you bring?”

He unzipped his bag and pulled out three DVDs. “I've got Kiki’s Delivery Service, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Spirited Away.” She giggled. “What?”

“I had almost forgotten that you were a big fan of anime.” He huffed. “Oh, don't be like that. You're cute - I mean they! The movies. They're cute. Yeah.” Her familiar blush returned. 

He decided to gloss over the fact that she just called him cute. He didn't want to add to her embarrassment. “What movies were you thinking of?”

She flashed him a look of gratitude before kneeling down to open the drawer he remembered seeing both as Chat Noir and as Adrien. She thumbed through the movies and pulled out four. He read them out loud as she handed them to him. “Nightmare Before Christmas. Iron Giant. Hunchback of Notre Dame. ...Sleeping Beauty?” He phrased the last as a question, looking askance at Marinette. 

“...I thought you might like it?” 

“I'm down to watch it if you are. It just seemed out of place is all.”

She breathed a sigh of relief which vanished as a knock came from her trap door. Without waiting for a response, Tom came up the stairs, grinning. “We found one!”

Adrien found himself smiling too as he pulled the sweater over his head. They weren't much for family traditions at home, so he was more than eager to join in other people’s. 

He looked to Marinette for approval. She was suppressing a giggle. “How do I look?” He struck a pose fit for one of the teen model magazines he frequently made the cover of. “Don't I look _fantastic_?”

She smiled and shook her head, “You really pull off the ugly sweater look, Adrien.”

“Why thank you. I _am_ a model in my prime, after all.” He gave a theatrical bow. When he looked back at Marinette, she was watching him curiously. 

Tom had a twinkle in his eye as he observed their exchange. “Well, I’ll leave you kids to it, then.” He walked down the stairs, leaving Adrien and Marinette alone again.

They didn’t say anything for a few moments. Eventually, Marinette offered, “We could play some Mecha Strike, if you want?”

Before he could respond, his own growling stomach cut him off. “Uh, maybe a bit of a snack first?”

“Sure. We’ve got some croissants left over from yesterday. Can you go and get them while I set up the game on my computer?”

He nodded and set out to get a full platter of snacks.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was impossible, truly something for the ages. She hadn’t ever thought it could happen, but here it was, the never becoming the now. She let out a long sigh as she leaned back into her chair.

Adrien had defeated her at Mecha Strike. Granted, it had taken twenty six attempts, but he had gotten there, just barely. He was beaming at her, proud of himself, and it was hard to muster up that competitive fire when he looked so happy. “That was a really close match, Marinette! You were awesome!”

“Good job, but don’t get too cocky. I'm a bit rusty, after all. I haven’t had much time for video games the last couple of months.”

“But this proves I have a chance! I’m gunning for your throne!” He leaned forward, grinning. “And from there, I’ll be on route to be the best Mecha Strike player of them all!”

“While I’d love to prove you wrong, it is almost dinner time. And after that, we’ll only have a couple of hours before we can start watching movies in the living room.”

His grin faltered for a moment before returning in full force. “Well, that just means that I end today the Mecha Strike champion!”

Before she could challenge him again to reclaim her title, her mom called up to them. “Kids! Dinner is ready!”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time they had finished eating - and it had taken a while since Sabine was constantly adding more to Adrien’s plate on account of him being ‘far too skinny’ - it was later than Marinette had expected it to be, but still too early for them to seize the living room.

They returned to her room, Marinette settling on her swivel chair and Adrien lying down on her chaise. She was briefly reminded of how, not too long ago, Chat was in that same spot, and in almost the same position. 

“We shouldn’t have to wait much longer before my parents head to bed. What do you want to do?”

Adrien shrugged. “I dunno. What do you normally do during a sleepover?”

“Well, there are slumber party games, but they are more fun with more than two people. Sometimes we play video games, but we’ve already done that, and we are waiting to have the ideal movie experience. Oh, and Alya and I sometimes practice braiding hair or nail polish while we talk about… stuff.” 

She absolutely refused to admit to anyone, least of all Adrien himself, that those talks tended to be about how best to confess her love to Adrien. She tugged at her pigtail nervously. Now that she had Adrien alone with her, it would be the perfect opportunity to do just that. But could she?

Adrien stood up. “Well, I think I’m done with this sweater, and I’ve been dying to try on the Ladybug onesie.” He put the garment over his shoulder. “I’m up for pretty much anything, so think about what you want to do.”

When he left the room, Marinette began getting changed herself. “Tikki! What do I do now?” She pulled the sweater over her head. “Tikki?” Her kwami wasn’t answering, but she knew she was in the room somewhere. Marinette sighed. She was probably asleep, like she usually was when they had company. 

Digging through her drawer, she pulled out a baggy long-sleeved shirt, something she often slept in during winter. She pulled at the sleeves until they covered her hands. At least she would be comfortable while staring awkwardly at Adrien for the next half hour.

Not long after she was ready, he walked back into her room. He struck a pose that was all too familiar to her, as it was the same one that she often used as Ladybug. He was grinning like a dope from under the pulled-up hood of his onesie, and she felt her own worries melt away in the face of such giddiness.

Giggling, she said, “Adrien Agreste, you are such a dork.” 

“And I proudly embrace it.”

“I can’t say I’m complaining. Any idea on what you want to do while we wait? I couldn’t think of anything.”

“Actually, yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. “You, uh, mentioned that you and Alya braided each other’s hair. I was wondering if you could, ah, teach me.”

She hadn’t quite expected that suggestion, but if it kept him entertained… “Okay, sure.” She pulled her hair out from her pigtails. “Your hair isn’t long enough for braids, so we’ll have to use mine. Watch me.” Moving to the floor, she turned around so that he could see what she was doing. She took a length of her hair from the back of her head and split it into three strands, which she wove into a braid. “Now you try.”

As he settled behind her, Marinette could suddenly feel his warmth and she was reminded that _holy frick her crush was running his fingers through her hair trying to braid it_. She was thankful she was facing away from him when this realization struck her, otherwise the fierce blush would have given her away. 

The minutes passed as she felt Adrien give it multiple attempts. The electric rush faded away, as she realized how much he was struggling with this. It was cute how hard he was trying, but he was making no progress. “Here, watch.” She undid all his efforts by brushing her fingers through her hair (eliciting some grumbles from him), then once again did a perfect braid. 

She felt him make several more attempts. “Wait! I got it that time!” Marinette pulled out a mirror, and sure enough there was a rough braid there. She smiled, less because of the success and more at his pride at pulling it off. 

“Good job! I don’t know what you are going to do with that skill, but I’m happy for you anyway.”

He blinked at her. “Well, there will be more sleepovers, right?”

Her heart fluttered in her chest at the implication, the almost pleading tone he said it in. “...Yeah, for sure.” She cleared her throat and stood up. “So, uh, yeah. I think we can go downstairs now.”

As expected, her parents had gone to bed, leaving the room to them. Adrien settled onto the couch while Marinette brought the movies to the TV. “I’m going to start us off with Nightmare Before Christmas, if you don’t mind?”

“No, go ahead. I haven’t see this movie in ages.”

“Did you want to build another pillow fort?”

Adrien seemed to put extra thought into this question. “...No, I’m not feeling it tonight. Although, I wouldn’t mind wrapping up in a blanket.”

“I wouldn’t either.” She pressed play and went to get some blankets and pillows. When she returned, she gave one of each to Adrien. He threw the blanket over himself, but held it open as he scooted towards the middle of the couch. 

While she definitely had made sure to get her own blanket, she wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to get close to Adrien, especially not if he was offering. She settled next to him, and he wrapped the blanket around both of them. Then he grabbed another and did it again. By the time he was done, only their heads weren’t covered, and their arms were pressed against each other. 

“You know, we’ll have to get up to change the movie.” 

Adrien struggled for a moment to get his hand free of the cocoon he had made. Playfully, he raised a finger to his lips and said, “Shush! It’s starting.” 

Marinette was already feeling tired. She had gotten up early and now she was nice and warm while the room was cold. At a certain point during the movie, she didn’t know when, she found that it was much more comfortable to lean her head on his shoulder. At least he didn’t seem to mind. 

When Sally’s Song was played, she was reminded of her situation with Adrien. _When will he see how much he means to me?_ The lyrics echoed in her head for the remainder of the movie. At least Sally got a happy ending with Jack. _I can only hope that it works out for us too._

Adrien extracted himself from the blankets, which almost sent Marinette tumbling to the side. She hadn’t realized she was leaning on him so much. “I’m feeling Howl’s Moving Castle. That okay with you?” 

She rubbed her eyes. “Yeah, of course.”

He dug himself back into his spot. Marinette hadn’t wanted to bother him by leaning on him so much this time around, but he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close anyway. Complaining was the last thing on her mind.

The movie passed by in a blur, and she wasn’t quite sure how late it was. They were left in darkness, and Marinette wasn’t certain that he was still awake.

“Adrien?” She whispered, not wanting to wake him if he had fallen asleep. She chose not to think how she would get out of the blankets if he was. Maybe she simply wouldn’t get out.

“Yeah?” Oh, good. He was awake after all. Though from the way his voice had dropped an octave or two, he seemed pretty close to sleep.

“I’m sorry that I freaked out over your present.”

“It’s okay. I know it was a bit much.” A pause. “It’s just… I knew you were making me something. And I thought you might even be making me two things. But I can’t do all the amazing things you can.”

“Hey, you said you made the dress, right? That was really cool.”

Adrien chuckled. “My father helped with that.” He shuffled around to face her properly, despite not being able to see each other’s faces in the dark. “I had this sketch, right? And I woke up early to sneak into his workshop. There’s lots of high end fabric in there, fancy machines, everything. I tried to make my design work, but I kept messing up. He caught me in there. He didn’t like that I had wasted fabric. I’m not sure why, but he helped me rework my design and we made the dress pretty quickly after that.”

“It doesn’t matter who did the needlework, Adrien. _You_ got it in your head to get _me_ something. You didn’t succeed in making it yourself, but the point is, it came from your heart. That's all that matters to me.” 

“And the jewelry?”

She shook her head. “It's just… so _expensive_ Adrien. How can I accept something like that?”

“But the money isn’t what is important to me! Do you know how many handmade gifts I’ve gotten in my life?”

The question tripped Marinette up. _Yeah, Adrien came from money, but surely_ someone _had to have made him something, right?_

“Four. And I got two of them today.” 

She was stunned, and her heart ached. “That can’t be right…”

“It is.”

“Well, what about the others?”

There was a long pause.

“Well, there was the lucky charm you gave me during that Mecha Strike tournament. And then for my birthday last year, I got a scarf. I had thought it was from my father, but I recently found it was from someone else entirely. Marinette…”

She had a moment of panic. “Y-yes?”

“Thank you. I never got a chance to tell you before, but I really do like the scarf. And I appreciate you looking out for my feelings, but I love your honesty, even if it is hard to swallow.” 

She was surprised she couldn’t see her blush anyway, despite the darkness. She was positively glowing at this point. “So… I get the feeling you didn’t just choose those accessories for no reason. What's the story behind them?”

“Nothing much, really. I was having problems finding the right thing, so I just thought to myself what would… mom have chosen.” He choked up a little saying the last three words, and Marinette groped blindly for his shoulder.

A little teary eyed herself, Marinette said, “Well, now I have to accept them. C’mon. Now I want to try them on.”

“Mari, its okay, you don’t have to-”

“You’re right. I _don’t_ have to. I want to.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

They successfully found the lights, Marinette only tripping once in the search. She pulled out the choker and earrings and found a mirror in the hallway. She seemed reluctant to remove her earrings, but she did so, while muttering something that Adrien didn’t quite catch.

The earrings went in easily, but the choker was giving her some trouble.

“Here, let me help.” He felt her shudder as his fingers brushed her neck in the process of fastening the necklace. 

She was looking at herself in the mirror, admiring the glint of the jewelry. He smiled as her face lit up. Then she turned to him, giggling. “I must look pretty silly wearing pajamas and fashion runway bling.”

Adrien didn’t respond immediately because he was staring. He suddenly realized the opals sparkled like her eyes. She looked like she came from his world - his mother’s world - of high fashion, of wealth. He had never put much stock in that lifestyle, but maybe that was because he had always been missing something. Maybe _she_ could be what he had been missing all along.

The silence stretched and Adrien realized he had to say something. “You, your - Nice! Very nice. It suits you. Yeah.” _Smooth, Agreste._

“T-Thanks. But I better take these off before we go back to watching movies.” 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

They tried to watch Kiki’s Delivery Service. They didn’t make it halfway through before they fell asleep on the couch, illuminated by the light from the TV as they fell asleep in each other’s arms.


	14. Holidays That Are Happy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien spend Christmas together. Ladybug trains with True Sight. Alya begins a new investigation.

_The echoes of the ringing gong slowly died out as they spread across the throne room. She blinked away the glowing dots in her vision. The candles going out had been disturbing - their light turning red and floating towards her she chose to see as a good omen from Hera._

_She took a step out of the foreign sigils traced in silver channels. The magic scroll had been very specific about that. Her lips curled downward as she remembered the easterling man who they had to take directions from. It was humiliating to have to obey an order from one of them, but it would be worth it in the end. Terrible monsters were gathering, and the ritual promised a great warrior who could aid them._

_Best of all, it was a warrior who it seemed had a close bond with the most prized artifact of her people. The guardian spirit that had watched over the queens for generations flitted to her side. “Now, when you see them, please, keep an open mind. They can be of great help to us.” She nodded. Tikki’s wisdom had not guided her wrong during her lifetime. But she was curious as to what could be so wrong with this great huntress that she would dismiss her out of hand._

_She sat on her throne and watched the circle. Her patience was rewarded when a silvery form dropped from a few feet above the sigils and landed in the middle. She raised an eyebrow. It was impressive armor that the stranger wore, and the sword at her belt was more impressive still. Something seemed off about them, however, but it took until the new arrival spoke for it to become clear on what it was._

_“You are the bearer of the ladybug miraculous.”_

_She narrowed her eyes. The voice was deep - far too deep to be any woman’s. “I am Queen Myrina of the Amazons. I was promised a great warrior. Instead, I am sent a mere man.”_

_He tilted his head - protected by armor - as he responded. “Life is full of disappointment. But be at peace. I am indeed a capable warrior.”_

_Her eyes narrowed. “I have no use for a man in my court. Only the advice of Tikki stays my hand from sending you back to whence you came.”_

_“How generous.”_

_“Guards! Take this wretch to the easterling and escort them out of the city. I want nothing to do with them.”_

_Once they were all gone, Tikki emerged from hiding. “Myrina! What did I just tell you to do?!”_

_She shook her head at Tikki. “I would lose more than I could gain. The Queen of the Amazons cannot be tutored by some unknown man. If he is as great as you say, then he will earn renown. Only then, perhaps, can we afford to learn from him.” She looked off into space, leaning her head against her fist in thought. “I had hoped for help, but it is clear to me now that we are not the ones most in need.”_

_Her guardian spirit floated in place, her face a mask of worry. “And what about your people in the meantime?”_

_“The Amazons are strong and used to the harshness of the world. But men are weak, and they will need a champion to guide them. Otherwise, they will surely die. ”_

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marinette woke from her sleep, confused by the fading vision. In her half-awake state, she didn’t want to dwell on her weird dreams, and instead decided to burrow back under her blankets, scooting back towards the warmth behind her. Apparently this bothered the pillows behind her as they then squirmed around slightly before pressing up against her more firmly.

This was her first sign that she had not just, in fact, backed her butt up against some pillows. 

Her second sign was that pillows, as a general rule, do not have arms that rest on one’s waist. Nor do they release hot breath down one’s neck. These are, rather, traits that humans have. With increasing trepidation she slowly craned back behind her to see who was - well, who was _spooning_ her. 

There, golden hair splayed out like a halo, was a sleeping angel. Whose name just so happened to be Adrien fricking Agreste. Completely unbidden, she let out a high pitched squeak, unable to get ahold of herself. The undignified noise caused Adrien to stir. He yawned and and began to stretch - which, given their proximity meant her was stretching _against_ her. She sat and watched in paralyzed panic as his face perfectly convey his thoughts as they entered his head one after another.

He froze, forehead scrunching up in bewilderment. His eyes fluttered open, the light causing his eyes to squint as he took in his situation. He looked at his hand, where it rested on Marinette’s hip. His eyes widened as he noticed the distance between the two of them - which was none - and traced a path up her body to her eyes. For a long moment they looked at each other.

She felt her face heat up just as she watched his cheeks take on a pink tone. 

“Adri-!” “Marin-!” 

They both started talking at once, and hurriedly tried to sit up, but only accomplished hitting their heads together. Seeing Adrien rubbing his forehead made her wince, despite the pain on her chin where he’d gotten her. She attempted to backup and possibly curl into a ball of embarrassment, all the while apologizing for her clumsiness. The critical flaw in her plan was that the couch was not of infinite size. One short scoot was all the space she had before her hand landed on air and she began plummeting backwards in slow motion. 

Adrien tried to catch her as he always did, but only ended up getting pulled down with her. Marinette got the wind knocked out of her as a mass of tall, blonde, and beautiful landed on top of her. For a few moments they just laid there, groaning from the sudden wakefulness and pain. Adrien rose as if he was doing a push up. He looked down, face completely red, to see the girl that he had accidentally pinned to the ground. 

She felt the blood rushing to her face, and nervously smiled. He returned it, equally as nervous, and they stayed there for a few moments, staring into each other’s eyes. Marinette saw realization flare and he rolled off her. “Oh my god, Marinette, I’m so sorry!”

She got up shakily, movements stuttery and uncertain. That look he’d given her as he was looking down at her had made her stomach a knotted mess of butterflies and she didn’t trust herself to say much. Yet still, her treacherous mouth disobeyed her. 

“Bathroom!” She bolted out of the room with as much speed as she could politely get away with, leaving Adrien in a tangled mess of blankets on the couch. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once Marinette was gone, Adrien put his face in his hands. He made a mental tally of his crimes for the day. Woke up spooning her. Probably gave her a bruise from how hard they collided. Pinned to her to floor. And was on top of her staring like a dope. _No wonder she left in such a hurry - I would be freaked out too. Why can’t I just keep my hands to myself?! She must think I’m some pervert now!_

He leaned back and groaned at the ceiling, which reminded him that his bag was upstairs. Rising from the couch, he went to retrieve it. He doubted she’d let him stay much longer anyway, so he’d better be ready to get dressed and leave as soon as she got out of the bathroom.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marinette stood at the sink, splashing herself with cold water. This wasn’t to wake her up - the events of the morning so far had already done _more_ than enough to rouse her from slumber. In fact an overabundance of rousing was the problem here. She took a few deep breaths to help herself calm down. 

_I mean, I only apparently spent the night cuddling Adrien - again - and woke up in his tender embrace. What is there to get flustered over?_

She paused, and felt the blushing returning. Looking at her mirror self, she locked onto her eyes. _No! No more flustered! He only freaked out cause you did! Go back out there and face him!_

After getting cleaned up she walked back into the living room, where Adrien sat moping on the couch, clutching his duffle bag. She raised an eyebrow at that. “Were you getting changed?” Her plan was to spend the day in pajamas, and it would be weird if only one of them was. 

He didn’t meet her eyes, his cheeks still pink, as he responded, “Uh, y-yeah. I figure I should probably leave…”

Panic gripped her heart for a moment before concern washed over her. “But… no one is at your house right now? The whole point of you coming over was so that you didn’t spend Christmas alone.”

He finally met her eyes. “You… _want_ me to stay?”

“Yes! Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well… after all that stuff when we woke up…” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“What? I thought _you’d_ be mad at _me_. I kinda dragged you onto the floor.”

This seemed to surprise him and he said softly, “O-Oh.”

Marinette, riding high on the thought that Adrien was more flustered than she was right now, got carried away and let her mouth go unsupervised. “Don’t worry, I definitely didn’t mind how I woke up. Maybe we can do it again some time.” She closed her eyes since she clearly hadn’t closed her mouth in time. _Great now I’ve definitely weirded him out._ She slowly opened them again to find him smiling gently at her. 

“Yeah. Maybe we can.”

 _Is… is he flirting right now? No. No he can’t be._

She settled for smiling back, and took a seat on the couch. “Anyway, you can go in the bathroom now if you need to. We can stay in pajamas if you want - that’s what I was going to do.”

He looked down at his Ladybug onsie, and she bit her lower lip. _The boy looks good in my spots._ “I like the sound of it. I’ll be back in a minute.”

With Adrien out of the room, Marinette tried to think of ways to entertain her guest for the day and _definitely not_ think about what he said in that brief conversation.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien was having the time of his life. 

Her parents had woken up late, taking advantage of being closed for the holidays. But once they were up, the Christmas traditions began. They opened presents - although Marinette and him already had a head start on that yesterday. Even though they didn’t have a lot of warning, Tom and Sabine had actually gotten him something.

“Here you go, Adrien!” Tom came out of the kitchen holding a pie in both hands, which he passed to Adrien.

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that.” He looked up at Marinette’s parents, clad once again in their sweaters. Following their lead, he and Marinette had found their sweaters from yesterday. “Thanks!”

Tom pulled him into a bear hug, ruffling his hair while lifting him off the ground, “Oh, I certainly did! Sabine and I agree that however much they feed you at home, it isn’t enough. Growing boys need plenty of food.”

Settling back onto the couch, Adrien noticed that there was a note attached to the pie tin.

Sabine noticed his discovery. “Oh, you’ll have to promise before you open it that you won’t show Marinette.” She giggled into her hand. “At least, not until you’re dating.”

Scandalized, and red in the face, Marinette whined, “Mooom!”

Adrien smiled as he reached for the note. “I promise.” He heard Marinette choke beside him as he began to read the handwritten note.

_Dear Adrien. We know that your life isn’t as full of love and warmth as we would expect from such a kind young man, but we just wanted you to be aware that all your friends love you. And we know this not just because of the way they watch out for you and care for you, but also because how Marinette will go on for hours talking about your lovable qualities. Signed, the Dupain-Chengs_

His heart warmed, and he gave a watery-eyed smile up at them, momentarily unable to speak. Marinette, who had been thwarted when trying to peek at the note, put a hand on his back. 

He recovered, and they continued with the unwrapping of gifts.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh no.”

Marinette looked up from her lunch, drawn as much by the wearied tone of voice as by the words themselves. Adrien was leaning back in his spot at the table, looking up at the ceiling.

Swallowing, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

He seemed nervous all of a sudden. “Huh? Oh, uh, I just realized I forgot something important at home.”

She frowned. _Was he being evasive?_ “We can drive over there if you want. What did you forget?”

He rubbed the back of his neck as his eyes looked past her and became unfocused. “My… uh… hair gel! Yeah, I forgot all about it. Father wanted me to start a strict hair routine, and I need to use that gel. Yeah.”

 _Ahh, he is embarrassed about needing to get beauty products._ “No problem! We can head over…” She looked over at her mom, the main driver of the house. 

“As soon as you two are ready. I’ll start the car.”

With only minimal changes ( _It’s not like we are going to be OUT outside_ ) they made their way over to the Agreste Mansion.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You should be fine here, we’ll be back out in a few minutes, Sabine!”

Adrien rushed to join Marinette at the gate, punching in the code to open the imposing portal. 

“I’m sure you get this a lot, but your house is huge, Adrien!”

He smiled ruefully. “I don’t, actually. We don’t get visitors a lot here, so people don’t say much about my house.”

She was watching him with pity in her eyes and he realized he was making his friend sad for him. Again. He cleared his throat. “Uh, well, anyway, my room is this way.” He made his way up the grand staircase and took a right, opening the door to his bedroom.

He looked back at her to see her awed reaction, only to see her looking around, uninterested. Frowning, he caught her eyes and she finally reacted. “Oh! Wow, this room has so much in it! Is that a second level? A-And a rock wall?! Amazing!”

The overplayed reaction had him curious - it was as if she’d seen it all before - but her overcompensation had him laughing. _Maybe her mind was just somewhere else?_ “I’m going to grab what I need out of the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

Now began the hard part, where he would prove his worth as the stealthiest cat of Paris. The refrigerator containing what he was _really_ after was blessedly right next to the bathroom. He still wasn’t sure how he had forgotten the camembert for Plagg - or maybe the glutton just ate it all already. Either way, there was none when he checked his bag this morning. 

Regardless, he now had to get a bag from the bathroom, put the hair gel in there - while helpful for his daily routine, it wasn’t mandated from his father - and somehow get out of the bathroom, open the refrigerator, and palm some cheese. All without Marinette noticing. He took a steadying breath. Show time.

Bag, gel, check. He placed an air freshener in the bag, just to be safe. That cheese could be potent. He poked his head out the bathroom door. Marinette was wandering over by his closet door, and was getting awfully close to some things he’d rather her not see. At least she was distracted, so he counted his lucky stars ( _One. One lucky star. Which was Ladybug_ ). He opened the refrigerator and started stuffing cheese into the bag, only to hear a god awful crashing sound behind him. Only his nerves steeled in battle prevented him from dropping his prize. He slammed the refrigerator shut in the noisy aftermath and looked at what happened.

His eyes widened as he saw a great mass of red and black with some green sprinkled intermittently among it all. His eyes trailed up the mess of Ladybug merchandise to the opened closet… and Marinette staring, stockstill, eyes wide at the entire thing. Her eyes slowly met his and he rubbed the back of his neck.

“I can explain.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marinette only half-listened to Adrien’s explanations, too busy scanning the pile on the ground to internalize what he was saying. Basically everything that could have spots on it seemed to have found its way into the collection. Rolled up posters. A throw blanket. Plushies. Pillows. Toy versions of her yoyo.

And… she tentatively reached out to the pile and grabbed an item that had caught her eye. The background noise dropped and she looked up at Adrien, He had gone quiet, and was watching her with a mix of unease and trepidation. She looked back at the object in her hand. It was a Ladybug action figure, complete with miraculous pre-recorded phrases and kung-fu action grip. She looked back at Adrien, who was waiting for her verdict anxiously. 

“So… you like Ladybug?” 

He was taken back, but quickly doubled over in an honest, wheezing laugh. It was infectious and soon Marinette was laughing just as hard. After a few minutes, they’d recovered, only to meet each other’s eyes and start all over again.

But eventually, the giggling fits subsided and Adrien could respond. He flipped his hair back nonchalantly and pretended to inspect his fingernails. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. No big deal. Not like I have a closet full of Ladybug stuff or anything. _That’d_ be weird.”

She grinned. “Well, even if you did have a secret Ladybug closet, it wouldn’t be weird. Lots of people look up to her, you know.” She closed the distance between them and whispered to him. “I hear even famous supermodel Adrien Agreste has a thing for her.”

His eyes sparkled as he looked down into her eyes. Softly, he said, “Well, _I_ heard that he was looking a bit closer to home than that.”

An electrified moment passed between them, and both seemed to suddenly realize what was happening. Marinette, who had gotten so, so close to Adrien, backed up. Adrien’s eyes flew open and he began stammering unintelligibly before clearing his throat. They looked away from each other, and she heard him take a deep breath. 

“I, uh, I’ve got my stuff. Ready to, uh, to leave?”

“What about your-”

“It’ll be here for Future Adrien to deal with.” A bit of his confidence had returned to his voice, and she felt him grab her hand and gently pull her towards the door. 

The last thing she saw of the room was a framed picture next to his bed - Ladybug and Adrien smiling at the camera.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day came and went, helped along with the remaining movies that Adrien and Marinette had picked out the day before. When the night crept in once again, he was ecstatic to build another pillow fort. 

“Are you sure? You look like you’re going to collapse at any minute.”

“I’m completely awake!” He said sluggishly, eyes drooping despite him constantly rubbing them, and his snuggling up with a blanket that she secretly wished was her. 

“Maybe you should just lie down and call it a night…”

His protest was weak, but the _earnestness_ of it only made it hit all the harder. “Noooo… we’re going to stay up and finish watching the movies…” He opened his heavy eyelids, those summer green orbs locking onto her as best as they could, and inadvertantly causing her heart to flutter. He reminded her in that moment of a little boy who just wanted to stay up with the big kids. 

Pain stabbed her chest as she remembered that he probably never got to have any of those moments growing up. She sighed. “Fine, fine. Let’s build a pillow fort…” 

She followed the same process as before, but a sleepy Adrien proved more of a hindrance than a help this time around. Still, she didn’t get mad with him since it turned out a sleepy Adrien was also an adorable Adrien. She’d send him to get blankets only for him to return with two cookies, absently handing her one. When she’d try remind him what she sent him for, he’d respond with a small “oh,” waddle off… and return with another cookie. 

Frustrating, but cute. 

She finished the pillow fort, and told Adrien to crawl in, which he managed to do. She went to get some snacks and the movie, only to return to see him sound asleep within the warm confines of the fortress. She crouched down next to his face, taking a moment to appreciate how he managed to look even more beautiful in blissful sleep. 

She brushed the hair out of his face. When he stirred because of this, she froze, but the wide smile that appeared caused her worry to fade away. For a moment she considered climbing in too - that had been their plan after all - but she couldn’t muster the nerve. Instead, she pulled a warm blanket over him, wished him pleasant dreams, and went upstairs to her own bed. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_She had found it - the old cottage in the middle of the forest. The rumors had said an old man of the Empire had taken residence here. The rumors said he was a great wizard, skilled in the arts of magic. They even claimed he ought be avoided at all costs._

_Morgan knew the truth of the matter._

_The door creaked open and she strode inside. Dried reagents hung from the ceiling. Bookshelves filled with tomes of lore - all, she had discovered, hand written by the old man himself - lined the walls of the hut. She found it without difficulty - an ornate box that the elder had shown her once. The symbols had to have been even older than he was, but if he knew their meaning then he had never shared them with her. Her lips curled downward. Yet another reason to do this._

_But the items of power within? She knew plenty about them. She knew her studies would never be complete unless she had one of her own. The lock clicked open and she nodded. All were here - she could have which ever one she wanted…_

_“What are you doing here?”_

_She slammed the lid shut, and whirled around to face the source of the voice. She knew, long ago, his hair had been a fiery red, but now it was grey and drained of life. He was hunched slightly by the trials of his life, scarred by wars a lifetime ago. Leaning heavily on an oaken staff, a hand held over the pommel of a brilliant sword still in its scabbard, he stared at her with suspicion and uncertainty in his eyes. A part of her felt shame that he no longer looked at her with pride and parental affection, but it was a small part and overruled by the grim necessity of the actions she had to take._

_“I am doing what needs to be done, and what you are too cowardly to do.” She rushed forward, knocking his staff out from underneath him as she drew her knife. He had tried to draw his sword, but in his advanced age, instead fumbled as he collapsed to the ground._

_She pressed the knife to his throat. His lips twisted into a snarl and he stared defiantly at her. Long moments passed, neither side moving at all. His face twisted into a mask of anger. “Well?!” He bellowed. “Do it!”_

_Growling, she willed herself to do it, but her hands only trembled in response. With a cry of anger, she slammed the pommel against the side of his head, knocking him out. She ran out of the hovel, tears of guilt and rage running down her face. She was fully aware that this injury won’t kill him, and wanted to be long gone with the black cat miraculous she had palmed before he awakens._

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien woke up fitfully, his agitated movements kicking the blankets off of him. He reached out to his side, expecting a body of warmth there that he could gravitate towards. Confusion mounted when he kept reaching further and further, but finding nothing. Only cold pillows and blankets. Opening his eyes, he saw the light diluted by the blanket walls of his fort, and began remembering some of the last scenes of the previous night.

He crawled out from his den, and emerged, blinking, into the light. A voice came from his right. “Sleeping beauty wakes up of his own accord, I see.”

He looked in that direction and saw Marinette in her pajamas. Her head was lying on her arms which were folded on the railing of the stairs she was watching him from. She watched him with a sly smile.

Smiling back, he stepped back and put his hands on his hips, surveying what was his bed for the night. “You know, it is hard to man a pillow fort by yourself.” He looked up at her and cocked his eyebrow.

A faint blush crept onto her cheeks. “W-well, you were already completely out cold, and I didn’t want to disturb you, so…” She trailed off as she noticed him walking towards her. He stood at the staircase, looking up at her.

“Next time, please disturb me. I slept better the times you were next to me.”

They spent a few heartbeats looking at each other before the meaning of Adrien’s words hit both of them. Both felt the blood rush to their faces, Marinette let out an eep and Adrien tried to verbally back track.

“I-I, uh, didn’t mean t-to, uh, say that you, we, should, um-”

From another room, Sabine’s voice rang out. “Kids! Come get some breakfast!”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marinette was still recovering from what Adrien had said, even as she waved goodbye to him as he left. Her brain was going over it with a fine tooth comb throughout the entire breakfast, during her search for and change into new clothes, and as she walked back upstairs to her room. There was no other way to interpret what he said. This wasn’t her seeing something where there was nothing. She tugged on one of her pigtails nervously as she allowed herself to think, maybe, just maybe, Adrien was interested in her. 

As the trap door closed behind her, Tikki appeared at her shoulder. “Wow, Marinette! This is great news. Adrien was almost as flustered as you were! That _has_ to mean something!”

Tikki’s bubbly optimism was infectious, and Marinette began jumping up and down in excitement. “Do you really think so, Tikki?”

“I know so. But we can’t dwell on that now. We need to meet up with Truesight for your training session soon.”

“Right! Tikki, spots on!”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Marinette as Ladybug slide down the ladder into Truesight’s underground home. He was seated at his table, as usual, writing into a large, modern-looking book. Turning around to look at her, she saw amusement light up his face.

“You seem to be rather pleased about something.”

“I am! I just got to spend a great couple of nights with _Adrien_!” She bounced up and down again before remembering where she was and calming down.

A sly smile crept its way onto his features. “I’m glad things are working out between the two of you. I will expect my wedding invitation to be handed to me in person, thank you.”

They shared in laughter as he stood and they went through some training exercises, but it made her start thinking. Who knows where’d they go from her? Maybe soon they would be dating. And then from there, wedding invitations wouldn’t be _too_ far behind. It was when she started thinking about children that a thought slammed her back into the present. _Would my kids know about me being Ladybug? Would I still be fighting Hawkmoth in my twenties? Thirties? Older?_

Suddenly the future wasn’t just love and happiness. It was fighting, and struggling. _Will my children know that I’m Ladybug? What would happen if I’m pregnant and an akuma attacks?_

She felt a hand lay heavily on her shoulder and Truesight was crouching in front of her, watching her face. “Lass? Are you alright? You’ve paled enough that I’d almost mistake you for kin. Take a seat.”

She stood rooted to the spot. “How long am I Ladybug?”

He seemed put on the back foot by this question. “For as long as you wish.” She watched him carefully. “As you may recall from the tale of Amunet, you can always surrender your miraculous willingly. I will not stop you - it is vitally important to me that only people who _want_ to fight the good fight go down this path.” Shuffling nervously as he stood, he added, “But, I’d much rather you stay with us, of course.”

“I wasn’t- I’m not leaving.” He breathed a sigh of relief. “I just wanted to know if this is a lifelong commitment.”

He shrugged. “It can be. It certainly has been for Fu - he was an active miraculous user until just before he called on you and Chat Noir.” Marinette hadn’t considered that Master Fu had once done what she did. _But then, why else would he have a miraculous?_ “Any of you can choose to back down - either because the danger has passed and you no longer want the power, or because you feel another must take up your role.”

She thought about Tikki. Even if she never transformed again, she didn’t want to be parted from her closest friend. “So… how long can we keep the miraculous if the danger passes?”

“I don’t know how the Guardians do it, but I only ever forced the miraculous back to me in the events of death or betrayal.” 

She nodded, mulling over this new information. Truesight stood and walked to the sparring circle, where he sat down along its edge. He gestured for her to sit across from him.

As she was getting settled, he began his lecture. “The power that the ladybug miraculous gives you is that of creation and restoration, with its greatest power being the ability to heal damage caused by malevolent forces.” Her head bobbed along to his explanation. This was nothing new to her so far. “But your powers are not yet great enough to undo the actions of the Great Enemy - their corruption lies too heavy upon wounds to heal easily.”

“So are you going to teach me how to call on more power, to super scrub them away?”

He lifted an eyebrow. “No. More power is not the solution.” He leaned forward. “Your miraculous has been pouring energy into the world without guidance. Channeling it through you first will provide structure - a lattice - that will make the magic capable of much more. Your power will make the miraculous all the more efficient.”

“Wha- but, I don’t _have_ any powers of my own!” 

He made a sweeping motion with his hand, as if brushing aside her protest. “You have strength all your own, but that isn’t the point.” He must have seen her confusion, since he sighed and said, “Perhaps this will make more sense if I show you?”

“...Yes?”

“Do as I do.” He sat cross-legged on the floor, hands on his knees and palms facing up. His face was angled down and his eyes were closed. She took the position as he began speaking. “Feel the energy of the ladybug that flows through you already. It gives vigor to your limbs, and strength to your muscles. Sense it pooling in your heart and gut.”

Minutes passed in silence as she slowly began to feel it. “I… barely see it.”

“Then you are doing well. Perceiving energy is the hardest part. But once you can see what you are meant to channel, then everything falls into place and it becomes no different then using your yoyo.”

She heard him stand, and opened her eyes. “What now?”

“Well, if you wish, I can show you how do to the same thing, but when you are not transformed.” She considered this. A brief vision of her sitting on her bed in her spots and her father bursting in with croissants flitted through her mind. Or, worse, Chat Noir knocking on her window in the night. 

“Sounds helpful. Let’s do it.” She stood. “Spots off.” The faint threads of power she had felt flowed off her and into Tikki, who materialized next to her shoulder. 

“Ah, Tikki, my old friend. How have the years treated you?”

She zoomed against his cheek in a hug. “Alric! I’ve missed you!”

They shared a laugh, and Truesight held her in his palm. “That was a warmer welcome than Plagg gave me.”

She gave the tiniest of eye rolls. “Plagg gets defensive of his kids. Whatever he said, don’t beat yourself up too much about it.”

“Oh, and while I’m thinking of energy and kwamis…” He gently placed her on the table and dug around on a shelf. He walked towards Marinette with a tied cloth sack. “These are for Tikki.”

“Um… what are they?” 

“Candies that I made, which are heavily imbued with magic. They are potent restoratives for kwami…” Tikki was flying around the bag, attempting to peer inside it. Occasionally she would catch a whiff of it, and sigh in pleasure. “...And delicious to them. Use them sparingly, and don’t let her talk you into giving her the entire bag.”

“Now… back to training.”

A brief demonstration (and a stolen candy) later, Marinette transformed and made her way back home. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Even through the driving rain and long distance, she saw him. White sword drawn and glowing, he stared down from the rocky outcropping, surveying the wreckage that he had brought about._

_Panic and anger seized her. “WHAT DO YOU WANT?! LEAVE ME ALONE, DAMN YOU!” Invisible in the downpour, tears began falling down her face._

_He saw her, and for heart stopping moments they watched each other. Fear gripped her. Was he going to kill her next? She collapsed to her knees in the mud, clutching at the foxtail amulet she wore. She blinked to clear her eyes, and a growl came to her throat unbidden. She wouldn’t go down without a fight._

_“Let’s pounce!” The orange light invigorated her, and she looked to where he had been._

_The foreign demon was long gone. As always._

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alya woke up in a cold sweat, blankets wrapped tightly around her as fear made her immobile. She heard the rhythmic breathing of Trixx close to her ear, which began to bring her back to the present. She was Alya, she was at home, and (excluding Trixx) she was alone in her room.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she reached for the notepad on her bed stand. Normally, she kept it there in case she had a revelation about Ladybug or Chat Noir while in the state between sleeping and awake. 

Trixx twitched as she brushed past him. “Something the matter, kit?”

“It was just a bad dream.”

Her phone turned on as she used its light to write her notes. Purple eyes suddenly filled her vision. “You have never written down a dream before.” He placed an arm on her nose. “You don’t have to go through this alone, you know.” 

Alya gave a small smile, and pet the top of her kwami’s head. “Let me just write it down so I don’t forget, okay?”

Having finished her note, she turned back to Trixx. “Listen - I know it sounds crazy, but in my dream, I had the fox miraculous, but I wasn’t, like, _me_.” 

Trixx nodded. “You might be dreaming about things that happened to previous fox users.” He fished out some popcorn and sat on her notepad, legs hanging off the edge as he looked up at her. “What happened in this dream?”

“Well, there was a lot of rain. I felt… afraid, and angry. But _way_ more afraid. And I think Truesight was there, except… _he_ was what I was scared of.” This was huge. If this dream was right, then maybe Truesight wasn’t who he seemed to be...

Trixx’s ears twitched and he tilted his head. “Very strange. What are you going to do about this?”

Alya, who had sat up in her bed, dramatically threw herself back down. “What _can_ I do? I’d research it, but I couldn’t find anything on real life superheroes when I looked.” She put her hands on her face, leaving the rest of her words muffled. “And Truesight said he blends into each culture, so how much harder is it going to be to find out about him?” Alya heard the crunching of popcorn and suddenly had an idea. “Trixx, could you-”

“Spoilers. I’m sorry, kit, but you need to find that stuff on your own.” Alya groaned. “But I could give you a hint, if you’re really stuck.”

Alya turned to look at him. “Really?”

“I can give you three names that he used to go by: Merlin, Imhotep, and Chiron.”

“I recognize some of those. But were they really Truesight?”

Trixx floated up next to her face again. “The problem you’ve been having is you are looking for superheroes like in your comics. But history is littered with heroes whose deeds are simply… miraculous.” He grinned, revealing his small but sharp fangs, and Alya gave a predatory a smile as realization dawned on her.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the morning, she began her research. Trixx was quick to realize the value of the internet, even if he kept getting distracted by the ads.

First, Merlin. The one with the largest body of work behind him, she figured. He was also probably her best starting point. 

_He has the largest body of work,_ she thought to herself, _and most of it written waaay after the fact, making it super useless_. She looked for the earliest sources she could, hoping that she could get as close to that time as possible. 

Trixx was sitting on her shoulder, busy with his popcorn. He glanced at the screen. “Remember, history won’t be like your stories. Open your mind to the possibilities and think about your own experiences with the miraculous.”

Alya reread the last few pages with this advice in mind. The legends held that Merlin chose Arthur and his finest knights, giving them powerful blessings that made them all but unstoppable in combat. Arthur himself was a renowned leader and-

Her thoughts froze as she remembered something Truesight said. _“Ladybugs tend to at least be the leaders of the miraculous bearers of the day. Sometimes, they rise to higher positions. Grand masters. Generals._

_Kings.”_

It suddenly began to fall into place. King Arthur, a former ladybug. Truesight guarding the miraculous in his old age, and handing them out to the knighthood. She decided to dig deeper. Where did Merlin come from?

“Ambrosius Aurelianus?” The name she read on the screen was held to be a possible ‘real-life inspiration’ for the myth of Merlin. A Roman warlord that fled the death of the Roman Empire. She wrote the name down. Perhaps later she could follow up, but something about Truesight being present for the fall of Rome didn’t sit right with her. 

Next up - Chiron. A legendary mentor to heroes. And a centaur. She snorted. “Excluding the half horse thing, that sounds about right.” She got mired in the dense forest of Greek mythology - and especially its semi-divine heroes. “Geez, Trixx, how many miraculous are there?”

“More than the seven, but not _that_ many. But think about this - most of those heroes appear once, and never make another appearance, and have way different powers. Why do you think that is?”

“...No way. The Butterfly miraculous?”

Trixx waved a paw in her face. “I know you’ve only seen it used for evil, but the miraculous are meant to be used for good.”

There wasn’t much more to find out about Chiron, except a half dozen versions of his death, all by a poisoned arrow. She bookmarked them and moved onto her last lead. 

Imhotep. An Egyptian commoner turned engineer turned god. Something about a powerful sorcerer, and the book of the dead. Her last lead and the first dead end. 

She made her final notes and stood up. Following, Trixx asked, “Where are we going, kit?”

“We might be able to find out more at the Louvre - they’ve got a ton of stuff about all sorts of times. In fact, that was where I found out about the Egyptian Ladybug.”

As Trixx flew into Alya’s purse, he asked, “Which one?”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien hesitated.

He stood in front of the door to his father’s office. Once he had gotten home, he had summoned Adrien to the entry room to explain where Adrien had run off to. After that brief conversation, he retreated to his office. Where he has stayed ever since. 

Normally, that would be his father’s way of hinting that Adrien should get on with his studies, or practice piano, or any number of other busy-work that his father heaped on him. But Adrien had a taste of friendship, and New Year’s Eve was coming up. So now he stood at the threshold of his father’s private domain, mustering the courage to ask for what he wanted. 

He knocked on the door, and he heard his father’s voice from the other side. “Come in.”

“Adrien? Aren’t you supposed to be doing something right now?”

“I needed to talk with you about something, Father.”

“It will have to wait. I need to complete these designs if-”

“Father.” His father’s eyes narrowed at him. He’d committed a cardinal sin - interrupting. Whatever he had to say, he needed to say it quickly. “I want to host a New Year’s party.”

“You are wasting my time with _this_ , of all things? No. Now go back to your room.” He went back to work, and Adrien stood there, seething. Gabriel looked back up. “You are still here? I thought I said-”

“I went over to the Dupain-Chengs for Christmas.” Interruption, again. He’d better make this good or his father will only ever let him out to do modeling henceforth. “Because there was no one here and they felt sorry for me.” The bitterness he felt bubbling inside of him leaked out into his words. “Marinette liked her gift, by the way. You remember? The one you verbally tore apart, only to redesign it yourself? Congratulations on that - at least _she_ loved it.”

His father’s silence filled the void as Adrien stopped to catch his breath. His face was unreadable - even more so than was normal for the senior Agreste. Channeling all the guilt trips that his father had put him through over the years - but _especially_ the last two years - he went on the offensive.

“I do everything you ask me to. I try my best to live up to your expectations, and I'm constantly alone in a huge house with no one to talk to. All I'm asking is some supervised time in my own home with people my own age. Is that really such a horrible request?"

The stony mask persisted, the stillness of a statue. Adrien prepared one last barb before he would admit defeat. 

"Do you really intend to keep me this lonely for the rest of my life?"

His father recoiled - not much, perhaps a couple millimeters, but for Adrien, who had been watching extremely carefully for any reaction at all, it was like the tumbling of a city wall. 

“Fine.” Adrien allowed his own mask to drop as a genuine smile began forming. “On two conditions.” Adrien caught his excitement and stifled it. Victory might be harsher to him than defeat would have been. 

“One, Nathalie will check in periodically. We will be busy that day, but she will make appearances regularly to ensure these… festivities… will not be getting out of control.”

Adrien nodded. He had expected as much. An entirely unsupervised party would never happen in this household. A bit of Plagg slipped into his mind as he added, _At least, not with Gabriel Agreste at home._

“Two, you will present to me a list of everyone who you will be inviting. I retain the right to reject anyone I see fit without stating my reasoning.”

That… might be a problem, especially if his father was feeling vindictive. Adrien chose to keep a positive attitude about this. “Thank you, Father. I will prepare the list immediately.”

“See that you do.”

With nothing else to say, Adrien left the room, closing the door behind him. Once he was a few steps away from the office, he broke into a run, grinning. He made it to his room, and immediately pulled out a notebook and pen. Sitting at his desk, he put the pen to the paper and… hesitated. 

_Who can I invite?_

He wrote down the first three names that came to mind - Marinette, Nino, Alya - but began to struggle. He didn’t really know his other classmates all that well.

“What are you doing?” 

The gross sounds of chewing followed right behind that question as Plagg floated over to Adrien’s shoulder. “First, back up a bit, you’re going to make me sick with that scent and your eating.” Once the air was a little clearer he continued. “I’m working on my invitation list for my New Year’s party.”

Plagg gave him a disbelieving look. “No way your dad agreed to that.”

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. “I _may_ have guilted him about not being here for Christmas.”

“That was a low blow, kid.” He scarfed down the last of his cheese. “Good job. Nice to see he can’t take it as good as he can dish it out. But four people is not a party. Who else?”

“That’s what I was wondering. I don’t know the other kids in my class that well.”

“You know what’ll fix that?” Adrien shook his head. “A party! Seriously, just send an invite to all of them.”

Adrien bit back a response. That made a surprising amount of sense. “You know what? That sounds like a good idea. Let’s do it.”

While he writing down the name of everyone in his class, he was already thinking about music and catering. During his two day stay at the Dupain-Cheng’s, he had more than a fair sampling of their goods, and was eager for more. As for music, well, his best friend _is _an excellent DJ.__

__With the pleasant feeling of a plan coming together, he got up to pass his list over to Nathalie. Entering his father’s office twice in one day would be unheard of, after all._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for missing last week's update! I'm now using a borrowed laptop since my usual laptop is still broken, and I had to recreate my outline for this story from memory. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	15. Dropping the Ball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An akuma attacks the Louvre, prompting the entire team to arrive to fight. In the lead up to the New Year's Eve party hosted by Adrien Agreste, a certain feline hero pays a visit to his civilian friend. The party starts wonderfully, but will the arrival of Chloe ruin it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this chapter is just over 10,000 words. There was just... so much to cover that I didn't feel comfortable breaking it up, so enjoy this extra long chapter! Don't get spoiled, though - The next couple of chapters will be more in the 5k to 7k range.

Adrien opened the door to his room. He just finished talking to Sabine about them potentially catering his party, which she was more than happy to do, even throwing in a discount for him. Not that he intended to let that stay - he was more than willing to pay full price, even if he had to cover the difference as a tip. Now he just needed to fill in Nino - although a paranoid part of him was scared that his father would approve everyone on his list _except_ his best friend. 

Before he could start his text, he slipped on something strewn on the floor. He managed to catch himself before having his face hit the ground, and looked back to see what tripped him up. The disgorged contents of his Ladybug Closet stared accusingly back at him. 

A groan tore its way out of his throat. And so Past Adrien became Future Adrien, who now had to put everything away. As he began sorting through the pile - mentally resolving to give away some of it - he heard Plagg call out to him across the room. 

“Aaadrien!” He sounded annoyed and worried, mostly annoyed. 

“Wha-” Adrien looked back to see Plagg holding onto his whiskers, which were vibrating. 

“Transform! Someone is trying to contact you.”

This wasn’t the first time someone tried to contact Chat Noir while he wasn’t transformed. But generally Plagg didn’t have a _physical reaction_ to it. Whatever it meant, someone on his team needed him.

“Claws out!” Once he became Chat Noir, he immediately pulled out his baton. Instead of seeing the face of Rena Rouge or Ladybug, he saw a pale blue screen with a sound wave. “...Hello?”

“Lad, there is an akuma on the loose. Meet us at that big glass pyramid.” Truesight’s voice.

“The Louvre? Really? I haven’t heard anything about that.” No updates on the Ladyblog and no news alerts - his normal means of keeping track of goings-on in Paris. It must not be of the rampaging variety of akuma, which Adrien appreciated. At least he was less likely to be facing a kaiju-style monster. 

“I’m not surprised. Ladybug was saying that it is a stealthy bastard.”

“Wait. Ladybug was the one that found it? And she contacted you first?”

“Aye. Most likely because she was just here yesterday, so I was on the brain.” His voice took on a chastising tone. “ _She_ made it to her training session on time.” 

Adrien grumbled, “My nap got away from me…”

Truesight chuckled. “I’m just teasing. But let’s make sure this akuma gets caught quickly, aye lad? I’ll see you there.”

\---------------------------------------------------------

“...And that’s the situation. Do you have any questions, Mr. Kubdel?”

The man who she knew better as Alix’s father nodded. “Do you know why they have this vendetta against us, Ladybug?”

“Unfortunately, no. If I knew that, I might be able to protect the museum better. As it stands, I’ll have to wait for my partners to arrive and help patrol it.”

“Well, thankfully one of us is already here.” Marinette looked up to see the grinning face of Chat Noir looking back down at her. He leapt down to stand at her side. “Any sign of Truesight or Rena Rouge?”

“I called both, but only Truesight answered.”

“When do you-”

“Excuse me, Ladybug?” They had started walking away, only to be turned back around. Mr. Kubdel was still standing there, and Marinette recognized the look he was giving her. It put her in mind of the look Alya would have as she began pursuing a new lead into discovering her identity. 

“Yes?”

“I’ve been wondering, ever since my son was akumatized… you aren’t _really_ from Ancient Egypt, are you?”

The look of hope in his eyes made her sad that she had to dash it. “No, Mr. Kubdel. The Ladybug that fought the Pharaoh all those years ago wasn’t me personally.”

Just as she feared, he became crestfallen. “I figured that must be the case, but I was holding out hope that it was true. Ah well, I-”

He was interrupted by a sound like a clap of thunder and a flash of white light. Before them stood Truesight, holding aloft his sword. He sheathed it before waving to her and Chat Noir.

“Greetings.”

An idea formed in Marinette’s head. “Hey, Truesight, didn’t you say you were present in Ancient Egypt?”

He tilted his head to the side, but nodded. “Aye, lass. Not sure what that has to do with-”

Mr. Kubdel rushed forward and offered his hand to Truesight. “Sir, it is a pleasure to meet you. Would you be willing to come with me, and help further our understanding of the past?”

Truesight reacted slowly, eventually shaking the offered hand. “It sounds like a worthy task, but…” His helmet swiveled over to her and Chat.

“No problem! We needed to split up and keep an eye on things anyway. You have your communicator on you, right?” Truesight dug around at his neck, eventually producing his quartz crystal on a gold necklace. “Good. Everyone keep in touch and report anything out of the ordinary you find. This akuma is person-sized, stealthy, and is going to be gunning for this place. Stay alert.”

\---------------------------------------------------------

Alya was wandering the Egypt exhibits, hoping to find more information on Imhotep, when she heard familiar metallic footsteps heading her way. Ducking behind a display case, she poked her head out to watch the two people approaching.

Just as she thought, Truesight was walking into the area. She recognized Mr Kubdel from her previous visits to the Louvre - both for her research and visiting Alix. As she started listening in, she felt a rustling in her purse. When she looked down, Trixx had poked his head out to look up at her. He seemed to have caught on that they were hiding and spoke in a whisper.

“Why are we eavesdropping? I’m sure Truesight would be happy to see you.”

She took a moment to sort through her thoughts. She wasn’t too clear on the relationship between the kwamis and Truesight, and she didn’t want to offend her new friend. “I think Truesight is hiding something from us, and he definitely takes care with what he says around me. Maybe if he doesn’t know I’m here, I can get some clues off of him.”

Trixx looked at the floor, eyes narrowed in concentration. Eventually, he looked back up with a smile. “I think I was right about you being fun.” He rustled around in her purse, emerging with her compact in hand. “You might want to use this.” 

With a whispered thanks, she watched the pair using her compact. Truesight was exploring the exhibits just as she was, but whereas she stopped to read each plaque to find out what they were, he simply looked at the item and moved on. Just as she was worried that he would wander over to her cover, he spotted a stone inscription on a wall and was drawn towards it. He stood in front of it, hands linked behind his back.

Mr. Kubdel walked up beside him to admire the piece. “Astounding, isn’t it, Mr. Truesight? It was found in remarkably pristine condition.”

“Simply Truesight will suffice. Do you know what it says, by chance?”

The historian seemed more than eager to share this information. “Yes. It tells the story in Egyptian mythology where clerics of the gods, aided by divine wisdom, did battle with a deity known as Apep, who had taken the form of a chaos serpent. Apep was defeated, and those slain in the battle were reborn through that same divine wisdom.”

Truesight gave a brief nod. “Close. But there are some critical mistakes you have made in that translation. The first is that you assume this is mythology and not history.”

“I… sir! This is a story about _divinely empowered clerics_ fighting a monstrous creature - what the Egyptians saw fit to call a _god_. Why would I consider it fact?”

Truesight made a motion of snapping his fingers, “Ah! That reminds me. I’ll need to check up on Ladybug and Chat Noir about the akuma that is on its way here.” He turned this head to the side.

Mr. Kubdel reached his conclusion long after Alya did. He started speaking, only to cut himself off. “...Are you saying that these… clerics, were in fact miraculous users?”

“Yes.” He put his hand on the other man’s shoulder. “Now, I see why you leapt to clerics, but that is because you miss translated this symbol here.” He pointed towards a rhombus with the uppermost corner blacked out. “But it doesn’t translate to divine wisdom. When deciphered literally, it means, ‘One who has the vision of the gods.’” He adopted the lecturing tone of voice that Alya knew all too well from their training sessions. “Now, these people believed that their gods were generally correct all the time, and without failing. They were certain, and absolute, and true. So one who shared their vision might also be called…?” He waved his hand in a ‘come-on’ motion.

Dumbstruck, Mr. Kubdel responded, “...Truesight.”

A pat on the back later and the man in question was looking back towards the inscription. “Seven miraculous users - Champions, not clerics - led by me faced down the source of all Egypt’s woes. What the inscription fails to remember is the thousands of ordinary soldiers that stood behind us.”

“My son had an obsession with a spell to bring back the dead. Is that the spell that was used to bring the champions back to life?”

Truesight snorted, but when he spoke, his voice was quiet. Alya could just barely hear it, but there was bitterness there too. “No. Half the champions and most of the soldiers died and stayed dead. When it talks about being reborn, it means the miraculous were passed to new bearers - figuratively being reborn by my will.”

“Astounding! So you were present for the carving of this stone?”

The bitterness was unconcealed now. “Aye. We had accomplished a task many had deemed impossible, so it was worthy of recording. They decided to use my actual name rather than the name I usually went by. Partially because they wanted to distance me from the deity they had built up in their minds.”

“Deity…?”

He waved off the question. “The circumstances of my arrival to this world - and the abilities that I possessed in those chaotic times - may have lead to some incorrect assumptions about my nature.”

A crash cut off any further discussion. Truesight drew his sword and looked back towards Mr Kubdel. “Find somewhere safe - outside the Louvre is probably better. We’ll handle this.” He dashed off towards the commotion, leaving Alya and the historian behind. 

Instead of leaving, Mr. Kubdel looked back at the inscription, apparently rereading it very carefully. He whispered to himself, “Apep… banished. But not killed.” He shivered, and continued to mumble as he walked away. “I think I liked it better when it was just a myth.” 

With the area to herself now, Alya slowly stood and opened her purse to look at Trixx. 

“That was a hell of a story, but we got an akuma to deal with first. Trixx! Let’s pounce!”

\---------------------------------------------------------

Adrien realized that ‘split up and keep on guard’ probably meant that Ladybug wanted them to go their separate ways, but he stuck with her and she hadn’t shooed him off yet. They strode with aimless purpose through the museum, keeping an eye out for any trouble that might be headed their way. After a few minutes of this, Adrien grew bored, and curiosity overcame him.

“So… how’d you find today’s villain?”

Her eyes darted briefly over to him before resuming their scan of the room. “I was walking home when I saw something in the shadows. I got a gut feeling that something was wrong, and I transformed to look around.”

There was the sound of footsteps, and the pair of heroes came across some tourists who hadn’t realized that the Louvre was evacuated. They pointed them towards the exit and continued their patrol.

“What did you find?”

“Hm? Oh, right. There was this person in a heavy cloak - a lot like Truesight’s, actually, but this one was purple with slowly moving blots of darker purple. I landed behind it, and it fell to its hands and knees and dashed into a shadowy part of the alley. Then, it vanished.”

“What, just like that?”

Ladybug stopped and held her fists together, then spread them out in an explosion motion. “Poof!” She shivered. “Even if it didn’t magically disappear, no normal human would move like that. It was more like an insect skittering than a run.”

Adrien considered this for a few minutes. “How’d you know it was going for here?”

Ladybug reached in her pocket and pulled out a folded-up poster. She passed it to him. “It dropped this, and I heard it say something like, ‘Show them all.’”

Unfolding the piece of paper, the flier proudly declared the newest exhibits at the Louvre - with artifacts from Ancient Egypt and Roman-era Northern Italy. “Huh. I wonder what its story is.”

“We’re going to find out pretty soon, kitty.” In a whisper that he’d be willing to bet she didn’t mean to be overheard, she added, “I hope.”

He whistled nonchalantly, hoping to keep the desperation and disappointment out of his voice. “So.... why’d you only call Truesight?”

“Actually, I called him last. For some reason, I couldn’t get through to you or Rena. Truesight said he could reach you two, so-”

A crash from the room ahead of them drew their attention. They shared a look, and Adrien nodded. They charged forward, weapons drawn, to find the object of their search. 

The cloak was just as Ladybug described, but that wasn’t what Adrien noticed when he entered the room. Instead, he noticed the giant spider legs that emerged from the cloak, keeping it elevated around five meters above the ground. It was tearing apart the room, rampaging amongst the paintings and sculptures. 

“Whoever they are normally, they aren’t a lover of art now.” Adrien stepped forward and shouted at the villain, “Hey, creepy crawly! You _artn’t_ going to get away with this!” Once the spidery villain turned around, he charged in swinging his baton. He hoped to swipe the legs out from underneath them.

He didn’t count on it being so quick. Almost faster than he could see, it leaped out of the way. One giant leg smacked into him, easily throwing him against the wall. The air was knocked out of him as Ladybug rushed to his side, yoyo twirling into a shield. 

“Are you alright, Chat?”

He jumped to his feet. “Yeah, I just didn’t expect it to be so agile.”

Drily, she said, “Well, you _did_ give it warning…”

A door on the other side of the room burst open, and Truesight stormed in. He hesitated when he saw the villain of the day, but it only lasted a moment before he took a defensive stance with his sword. Adrien was sure only he heard Truesight mutter, “It had to be a damned spider, didn’t it?”

The villain lashed out at Ladybug and Truesight with two legs apiece. Ladybug’s yoyo shield held firm, and Truesight deflected the attacks with the flat of his blade. With several of its legs occupied with offense, it became less stable and the humanoid body began to get tossed around. Adrien saw the glint of gold.

“Ladybug! Around its neck, I saw something. A necklace, maybe? It has to be where the akuma is hiding!”

“Good eye, Chat. Distract it while I-”

They covered their ears as the creature let loose an inhuman screech. It scrambled into a dark corner of the room, running into the shadowy wall without slowing. For good reason, as it turned out - it vanished into the shade entirely. 

Truesight did not sheath his sword as he walked toward them. “Can’t say I’m sorry to see it go, but that just prolongs the hunt.”

Ladybug stamped her foot in frustration. “Shoot!” She turned to their mentor. “Do you have any idea where it could have gone?”

He put his sword away and kneeled down at the shadows, running a finger along the wall where it escaped. “I can probably find where it exited from, but-”

The third - and last - set of doors into the room was thrown open and Rena Rouge walked into the room. “Haha, I’m here to… help fight… the akuma?” Her initial excitement gave way to confusion as she took in the destroyed gallery. “Did we… win? I didn’t see any magic ladybug swarms.”

Ladybug shook her head. “No, this akuma isn’t too eager to face us in a straight fight.”

“Probably for the best. I’m _feline_ pretty good about our odds.” Adrien grinned at Ladybug’s eye roll and Rena’s snort. 

“ _Anyway_ ,” Truesight cut in, “I can find where it exited from. From what I’m sensing, it is on the opposite side of the building. Which is irritating.”

Rena had crossed her arms. “Can’t you just track it from there?”

“If it uses magic to move, then yes. Otherwise, we’ll have to hope it leaves a trail to follow.” He drew his sword again.

“Let’s stick together now. I don’t want anyone facing it alone.” Ladybug took the lead, direction provided by Truesight from time to time. 

This left Adrien to hang back a bit with Rena Rouge. “So, sneaky fox, what took _you_ so long to get here?”

“Oh no I didn’t, cat, I got here _way_ before the rest of you.” She paused. “Okay, I was here as a civilian, but the point remains!”

He snickered at her expense. “It’s alright. Ladybug was apparently having some issues calling us. Had to get Truesight to do it for her.”

“What? Why would his stuff work and not ours?” Her eyes narrowed as she watched him.

“I dunno. Magic, I guess? There is a lot about the miraculous that doesn’t make much sense.” Which was true. Adrien had been using his miraculous for a year and still felt like he was barely scratching the surface of all its abilities. He glanced over at Rena to see her frowning as she looked forward. “If you’re really that curious, I’d bet Truesight would tell you.”

For whatever reason, she didn’t ask him. In a lower voice, she asked him, “So… any progress on the Ladynoir front?”

He could feel himself blush as he unconsciously looked at Ladybug’s back. He cleared his throat to help push back his sudden lack of confidence. “I… I don’t know. I just don’t think she sees me that way. Besides, there’s this girl in my civilian life that I think-”

Rena seemed scandalized. “You aren’t giving up on Ladybug, are you? Come on, cat man! You can’t let Ladynoir sink like that!”

“I’m not _giving up_ ,” He added exaggerated air quotes with his clawed hands, “on Ladybug, I-”

Rena cut him off. “You still love her, don’t you?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yes?”

“Then why not? You two are perfect for each other!”

“I-” Adrien was about to argue - even if what she was saying perfectly echoed his own thoughts when he was alone and uncertain - but Ladybug and Truesight had stopped at a door, the latter listening at it. She stood motioning for Rena and him to hurry up. Once they were all there, she glanced at Truesight, who nodded.

Her sapphire blue eyes looked into his own, “Okay, here’s the plan I’ve come up with…”

\---------------------------------------------------------

As was becoming tradition for this fight, they burst through the doors, and began setting her plan in motion. Much like last time, the villain was just rampaging in the room, any higher objectives seemingly forgotten as it tossed around priceless works of art. Marinette held back and slammed the door shut behind them while Rena played a song on her flute.

“Mirage!”

All entrances into the gallery became sealed and a ball of light hovered near the akuma. It shrieked and batted at it, but it was always just outside its reach. Chat nodded to Truesight, causing them to run to opposite sides of the spidery villain and draw its attention. While Chat was actively swatting away at the legs, Truesight was causing his sword to glow brightly as he warded off the legs. 

Rena slide under it, buckling two of the legs as she did so. As it toppled down, Marinette wrapped the remaining two and charged for the central humanoid shape. In the ensuing scuffle on the floor, she accidentally ripped off the cloak, revealing the true appearance of the villain.

Everything above the waist was roughly correct - excluding the bulging purple veins, sickly yellow eyes and patchy hair on its head. She couldn’t get a better look due to the torn rags that (thankfully) covered most of the upper body. But the lower body? Everything below the waist was a tangled mess of glistening, pulsing… _things_ that eventually turned into the eight legs that it fought with.

A chorus of gagging noises and involuntary gasps drowned out the creature’s flailing for a moment before she tore the necklace off of it and tossed it to Chat. Even in his shocked state, he caught it easily.

“Cataclysm!” 

Some Ladybug purification later, and everything was set back to normal. A shivering man with wide-rimmed glasses lay in the fetal position in front of them. 

She stepped forward to place a comforting hand on his back. “Are you alright, sir?”

He coughed and retched. “N-No, I feel sick. But… I think I’ll be fine. Thank you, Ladybug.” 

“Can you tell us anything about what happened?”

Shuddering, he pulled his coat more tightly around him and failed to respond. 

Truesight crouched next to him and started rubbing circles on his back. Marinette pulled back to give him room, as she thought he was trying to provide comfort like she was. There was a collective gasp when Truesight slowly moved his hand directly off the man’s back, pulling with it threads of black-purple energy, which tried its best to remain latched onto the civilian. It writhed like the tentacles of a squid before Truesight flicked his wrist, throwing it to the ground. With a hissing sound, it dissolved into nothingness. Absently, he rubbed the hand on his tabard. In moments, the man recovered and stood up, shakily. 

“T-Thank you. I feel much better now.” He blinked owlishly at the heroes assembled around him. “W-where am I?”

They escorted the man out of the building and spoke with the reporters waiting outside for them. Truesight and Rena Rouge had already made their disappearances. 

\---------------------------------------------------------

In the days following Christmas, Marinette didn’t have a lot to occupy her time. The mad rush to get all the presents ready had dominated her schedule for the month leading up to Christmas, but now that it had come and gone, she sat in her room, idly working on personal projects. As her phone buzzed with another text alert, she smiled. Idly working… and talking with Adrien.

She hadn’t expected him to respond so quickly when she sent the first text a few hours ago. It seemed that Adrien’s schedule was clear of modelling and fencing for the time being - even if he still had to practice Chinese and the piano while at home. But between breaks in their separate activities, they managed to hold a steady conversation. She enjoyed talking to him like this. True, she couldn’t look into his gorgeous face while he talked, but that was a benefit all its own. She could organize her thoughts, be witty, and not stutter. Not that the last has happened for a while. It was just her and this sweet, doofy boy.

At least until he had to go to bed early. She wished him good night and let herself get lost in her craft. An hour passed in this zen solitude, the only noises being the music Tikki was dancing to and the hum of her sewing machine. 

It was in this relaxed state of mind that she caught a certain feline hero staring at her through her window. Of course, she didn’t realize that at first, instead only seeing two green glowing orbs peering into her room at night. Zen reflection went right out the window as she scrambled backwards out of her chair, landing hard on her rear. All the pieces fit together when she heard the snickering from outside. 

She glared at the figure, who was still grinning. She stood and cracked open the window. “If you think I’m going to let you in now after that….”

He bit on his lips to hold back laughter. “But Princess! I came all this way to give you your present!”

 _A present? Why would he get me a… oh._ With only a window between them now, she could see that he was wearing a beanie and scarf that matched the black of his suit. She sighed, and wished she had told him that he definitely hadn’t needed to get her anything. 

“Okay, alley cat, you can come in.” She got to her bed and unlocked the latch for the trapdoor. Chat landed gracefully next to her, followed by a gust of cold air. With a shiver, she closed the door behind him. 

He noticed her shivering and smiled. “Well, I’m glad you’ll be able to use this immediately then.” He handed her a bundle tightly wrapped by white string, and jumped down onto the floor. Once there, he placed a brown paper bag on her desk. 

With mounting curiosity - both at what it was and how he managed to get here with it slung under his arms - she pulled away the string, causing the entire bundle to spring apart. It was Chat themed, she noted with a roll of her eyes - her kitty always did have a bit of an ego. Spreading it out, she realized it was a tie blanket - and a pretty good sized one too. She glanced at Chat, who was trying to be sly and watch her out of the corner of his eye. 

Smiling, she spread the blanket out on top of her bed and climbed down the ladder. While he was still half turned away from her, she wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. 

“I appreciate the gift, Chat, but you really didn’t have to.”

“I am a cat of my word. I told you I’d bring you something for your kindness, and I did.”

“The scarf didn’t-”

He returned the hug, and spoke in a hush. “I wasn’t just talking about the scarf, Princess. You are a good friend to me, and that is something I will always appreciate.” In more his normal tone of voice he added, “And you know what friends do?” 

She pulled back after a few more moments. “Let friends know when they are coming over so they don’t scare the hell out of their friends?”

“No. They gossip. And!” He reached for a brown bag and pulled out a bottle of wine. “Shall we get started?”

She went downstairs to get some glasses. By the time she returned back upstairs, he had managed to uncorked the bottle with his claws, and was sprawled out on the chaise. She pulled up a small table and her desk chair, then grabbed two blankets, tossing one at Chat’s face. Somewhat disappointingly, he managed to catch it effortlessly with one hand. At least his smug look vanished when he saw her wrapped up in her new blanket.

Giggling at his flustered expression, she asked, “Cat got your tongue?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “N-no, my colors just look good on you is all.”

She took a sip of the wine he bought, to hide her own light blush. “Thanks, kitty.” She mentally scrambled for a topic of conversation. “So… how was your Christmas?”

A smile tugged at his lips as he got a faraway look in his eyes. “It was… good. Which I can’t say often for my Christmas days. But I got to spend it with people that I really care about, so I’m happy.”

“That’s awesome! I’m glad the season didn’t leave you feeling _cold_.” He gave her a playful smirk, but otherwise did not acknowledge the pun.

“And what about you, Princess? How’d you spend your Christmas day?” 

“Mine was pretty similar. _I_ got to spend the entire day with Adrien.” 

Chat raised an eyebrow and wore a small smile. “You say that like it’s the greatest thing in the world. He can’t be that great.” Unfortunately for him, Marinette had anticipated that he might annoy her at some point during this conversation, which is why she had placed her chair within arm’s reach of him. She leaned forward and smacked him on the arm.

Pointing an accusatory finger at him, she said, “I’ll have you know that he is the sweetest guy I’ve met. I won’t hear you say anything bad about him.” 

He held up his free hand to ward off any further attacks. “I’m just saying, he might not be this perfect model you’ve built up in your head.” She held back some teasing when she saw him looking at the floor, taking small sips of his wine.

“Are you… _jealous_ , kitty?”

To her surprise, he snorted. “Yeah, sure. Why not.” He laughed to himself. “ _I’m_ jealous of Adrien Agreste.”

She narrowed her eyes. _Did he really have that low an opinion of Adrien? I’m going to have to educate this boy…_ She pointed her finger at him as she began. “I didn’t fall for his looks - when I first met him, I lashed out at him.” Leaning back into her chair, she let herself think back to that first day of class. “I thought he was going to be another Chloe, so I assumed the worst. But he proved me wrong. Even with my anger towards him, he reached out to me, and showed me nothing but kindness. _That_ is what I love about him. Ever since that day, even when I’m stuttering or falling or just being awkward around him, he is nothing but kind and patient.” She took a wistful breath. “I know he isn’t perfect - no one is. I just want to be the person he can be imperfect around.”

When she looked back down, he was staring wide eyed at her. “You… like him, don’t you? _Like_ like him?”

She groaned and took another sip. “Really, Chat? The girl I babysit says ‘like like.’ We can say crush. Or even love.”

“So you _do_ then? ...Love him?”

She swirled the remaining liquid in her glass. In a whisper she responded, “...Yeah. I do,” finishing the glass after saying it. She felt close enough to Chat to admit it to him. Unrequited love was something they could bond over, after all. He continued to stare into the distance, but now there was a hint of a smile at his lips, and she could tell his thoughts were elsewhere entirely.

“I’m just… I don’t know if he feels the same way about me.”

That broke him out of his reverie, and locked his eyes solidly back on her. “Huh? Why wouldn’t he?”

“You say that like there’s no reason why he wouldn’t.”

“You are my honorary Ladybug for a reason, Princess. You have her bravery and compassion.”

 _If only you knew, kitty…_ “I don’t know if I’ll be anything more than a friend to him. Maybe that’s all he _needs_ right now - a friend.” She paused to refill her glass. “He grew up so sheltered, so cut off from other people. He’s had people throwing themselves at him all the time since going to public school.” Another sip from of wine. 

“The last time we talked about this, you were saying you wanted to confess your feelings. What changed?”

“I want to be there for him - that’s what I’ve always wanted.” She gave a weak smile at Chat. “It’s like you said about Ladybug - I want to be there for him, even if that means just being a good friend.”

Chat shook his head. “I don’t think that’s something you can decide for him. He isn’t a fragile flower, you know.”

“I know that, but-”

“Then let him know. What’s the worst that can happen? He says no and you stay friends.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You seem to know an awful lot about Adrien.” 

Busy taking a sip of his drink, he brushed the point aside with a wave of his hand. “I’m a man. I understand his mindset better.”

“Really? You look more like a boy to me.” He pouted at her. “A cat boy, at that.” While he grumbled, she asked, “And what about you and Ladybug? Care to show me how it’s done in the woo-ing department? I’m sure you’ve got plenty of ideas rattling around in that kitty brain of yours.” 

To her surprise, he shook his head. “No. I’m starting to realize Ladybug doesn’t want a relationship - least of all from me.” His ears drooped as he looked down into his cup. 

“Chat…” She reached out to pet his head.

He didn’t look up, but she did see a smile slowly spread across his face. “But don’t worry about me, Princess! I think there is someone in my civilian life that I’ve started to like. Ladybug won’t have to worry about me chasing after her anymore.”

She was happy for him - especially if she took his advice and tried to start a relationship with Adrien. And it wouldn’t be right to have Chat flirting with her if she was dating Adrien. She knew all this, intellectually, but the pit that had opened up in her stomach made it hard to feel anything but sadness. It was as if a door was closing in her life. She shook her head to clear those thoughts. _This should be a_ good _thing. We can each move on with people who make us happy!_

As she was staring down into nothingness, Chat stood up. “Well, Princess, it is getting late. It was, as always, a pleasure to sit with you.” He winked at her and she felt her heart flutter. He carefully shook the half-emptied bottle. “I’ll leave the wine in your capable care.” 

While she was still grappling with these new emotions, he cradled the back of her head and placed a feather light kiss on her forehead. “Good night. I’ll see you soon.” He climbed the ladder and started to make his way out through the trapdoor.

The blush rapidly spread out of control, her entire face being red by the time he’d reached the exit. She called out to his retreating back, too well-bundled to get up quickly. “G-good nuh-night!” She winced at the stutter, but he either didn’t mind or didn’t notice. He gave a quick, two finger salute and left.

Marinette didn’t move for several minutes. Tikki drifted out of hiding. “Marinette? Are you okay?’

“Tikki!” She whined. “Something is wrong! I should be happy for Chat. But… why do I feel so…. So… empty?”

Worried blue eyes met her own as Tikki placed an arm on Marinette’s cheek. “Marinette… Are you sad because Chat Noir won’t be flirting with you anymore?”

“I… I guess?”

“So what do you think that means?”

Her eyes flew open. “I… I think I like Chat Noir.” She gripped the sides of her head as her mouth flew open, a wordless scream.

“You mean, like like?” Tikki was smiling, and seemed unperturbed even when Marinette glared at her. “Well, at least you know you have a type now.”

“So not funny!”

“Relax, Marinette. This isn’t the end of the world. You still have feelings for Adrien - nothing has changed there, right?” Marinette nodded. “These emotions might be hard to deal with, but I know that you can handle it. Everything will work out for the better - trust me!”

She nodded, Tikki’s words helping setting her mind at ease. 

\---------------------------------------------------------

It was sixteen hundred on New Year’s Eve and Adrien was pacing nervously at the entrance of his home. Sabine had already been by an hour ago to drop off the pastries he had ordered, and wished him the best of luck. The gesture was greatly appreciated. With how his nerves were at the moment, he might really need that luck. 

Someone knocked on the door and he ran to open it embarrassingly fast. Standing in front of him was his three closest friends - Nino, Marinette and Alya. Nino lead the way inside and hugged his best friend.

“Dude! Sorry I’m late, there was some major problems getting my equipment out the door. But don’t worry, bro, I’ve brought the party.” 

They shared a high five. “I knew I could count on you, Nino! You still haven’t named a price, by the way.”

He made an x shape with his arms. “No way! I’m not charging my best bro.”

“And I know better than anyone that true art deserves to be rewarded.” Nino shook his head and walked past Adrien, equipment towed behind him. 

“Hey, blondie. You ready to party the year away?” Alya placed a hand on her hips as she posed the question, her other hand pulling the rest of Nino’s equipment behind her. 

“Yes! I’ve never had so many people here before!” Adrien didn’t want to let himself get too excited. Surprisingly, his father had approved of the entire list that he had sent to him. Which was good, but it just left Adrien waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

“And where is ‘here’ going to be, blondie?” 

“Oh, in my room. It is far enough away from Father’s work spaces that we shouldn’t disturb him.”

She didn’t seem convinced. “The entire class? In your room?” He nodded.

“You should see his room, Alya. It is _stupid_ big.” His attention was drawn the last of the group, Marinette. She caught his eyes and she blushed. “N-not that your room is stupid or anything! I-”

His chuckling cut her off. “It's good to see you, Marinette. I’m glad you could make it.” In the corner of his eyes he caught Alya looking between them and quietly making her way in the direction Nino went. Adrien remembered the conversation Marinette had with Chat a few days ago, surprised he hadn’t caught onto it all before. 

Marinette gave a gentle smile. “I’m glad to see you too.” They stood in silence for a few moments before she cleared her throat. “So, uh, I better go help Nino and Alya set up. See you during the party!” 

He watched her run up the stairs two at a time and run into his room. He shook his head as he waited for the others to show up.

\---------------------------------------------------------

It was four hours later and Adrien was in his room. But for the first time, it was where he wanted to be - surrounded by friends, music flooding the room, and loud conversation turning the empty space into a place filled with life. Right now, he was standing next to the makeshift DJ station he had made on his second floor, overlooking the party. He looked across the room to make sure everyone was having fun. 

Alya was behind him, chatting with Nino as he stayed busy with his music. Max was at the arcade, doing his best to top everyone of Adrien’s scores. Alix and Kim had been there as well, but had left at some point to climb the rock wall. After a sound thrashing by Alix, she was standing with Marc and Nathanael, deep in conversation. He smiled. At least Ondine was still cheering Kim on. He hadn’t invited her - having never met her in civilian form - but when she showed up arm in arm with Kim, he wasn’t about to turn her away. Mylene, who had arrived without Ivan (he was, sadly, sick today), was laughing with Rose and Juleka. He frowned. He didn’t see Marinette. 

Then he remembered to look down. Underneath the glass floor is where he had set up the snacks, and there he saw Marinette sampling the food and punch. Alone. Well, I need to go and fix that. 

Going down the staircase, he entered the ground floor of the party. He passed through the groups, listening into his guests talking, and playing the part of the dutiful host. He was almost to Marinette when he heard a fragment of a conversation that gave him pause.

“...Yeah and ever since that akuma they still can’t find the artifacts.”

It was Alix, talking to Nathanael and Marc. She was unusually serious. From what he’d heard, she lives either at or near the Louvre, and both her older brother and her father worked there. If anyone knew the inner workings of that place, it would be her.

Adrien took a step back to join the circle. “What was that about an akuma?”

“You know that weird ass shadow, spider thing that attacked the Louvre, right?” Adrien nodded. “Well, when Ladybug cleared out the building, that meant most of the staff too. And then when the merry band of damned heroes chased it to the opposite end of the museum, they think someone broke into the newest shipment of Roman stuff and pinched some things.”

Adrien shook his head sadly. “I can’t believe people would take advantage of an akuma attack like that…” It wasn’t unheard of, but it was still disappointing to hear.

“That’s the weird thing. Stuff that could be valuable - like jewelry, gold coins, stuff like that - was left behind. All that was taken was like old scrolls and books.”

Nathanael chimed in, “I bet Hawkmoth is behind it. Maybe he even designed an akuma just to lure everyone away?”

“I don’t know about that,” Marc began, “I don’t think Hawkmoth is much of a planning kind of villain. Remember when he akumatized a baby?”

As they argued about how much of a villainous mastermind his archenemy was, Adrien walked away, filing that information away for later. Another thing to bring up to the team when he saw them next. He reached the table where Marinette had gotten up to get more punch, facing away from Adrien.

As nonchalantly as he could, he stood next to her and reached for a chocolatine. “Enjoying the party?”

She jumped, spilling some punch. “Gah!” She placed a hand on her chest as she turned to look at him. “Why do you do that?!”

“Do what?” He asked, as innocently as he could manage as he took a sip of punch.

Her arm waved in front of her, encompassing all of him. “Just… suddenly appear. Out of nowhere! How do you even do that?!”

He shrugged, but it was taking considerable effort to hold back his smile. “I guess I’m just naturally stealthy.”

“Hard to believe Mr. Model can divert attention _away_ from himself when he wants to.” She shoved his shoulder playfully as they shared a laugh. “Well, anyway. This is a nice party. It’s pretty good for your first time.”

Putting his hand over his chest, he gave a shallow bow. “Why thank you. I strive to be the very best, like no one ever was.”

“I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that isn’t a quote from an anime.”

“I don’t want to disappoint you, so I won’t tell you where I got it.” He saw a sparkle in her eyes from their playful bantering. When they got to talking like this, they forgot about everything else.

He bit into the chocolatine he was holding. While he was working through it, Marinette said, in a feigned high-handed tone of voice, “And you really must tell me where you got these delicious pastries.”

“Oh, just some mom and pop shop in the area. I’m sure you’ve never heard of them.”

She crossed her arms. “I _made_ all the chocolatines, you dumb blonde.”

With great solemnity, he shook his head. “You are far too sweet for the insults game, Mari.”

Before she could respond, he heard the door open. He turned to look at who was coming in, entirely expecting Nathalie. It had been a couple hours since she had shown herself and it was getting about time for another visit. To his surprise, it was Chloe and Sabrina. While he _did_ invite them, when he stood at the door for an extra hour and they didn’t show, he expected them not to appear at all. 

He briefly looked back at Marinette to see her eyes narrowed and face set into a scowl. Adrien knew they didn’t get along, but hadn’t expected _on sight_ anger. _Maybe it would be best if I keep them separated?_

“Adrikins!” He barely registered the nickname before Chloe was latched onto his side, trying to plant a kiss on his cheek. He leaned back as much as he was able and tried to respond. 

“Hey, Chloe. You’re pretty late. I wasn’t sure if you were coming at all.”

She seemed scandalized. “ _Me_? Miss a party thrown by _you_? I’d never dream of it! Especially since I received a personal invitation.” _Well yeah,_ Adrien thought, _**everyone** received a personal invitation._

Adrien gave an apologetic smile to Marinette, who only gave an exasperated one in return. Thus began the next hour of Chloe being attached to Adrien at the hip, Sabrina having been shooed off to “socialize with the little people.” 

As it turns out, having Chloe right next to him did not endear him to his classmates. Those who wouldn’t outright shuffle away at his approach would just get harassed by Chloe. Getting sick and tired of this, he went up to the only people he _knew_ wouldn’t walk away from him.

“Nino! Alya! How’s it going?”

They both looked excited when they turned toward the sound of his voice, but their expressions became doubtful when they saw who was hanging onto his arm. He did his best to look distressed and tried to convey to his best bud that this was not what he had in mind.

Nino, the truest of bros, picked up on this and tried to act as if nothing was amiss. “Hey, dude. Everybody is loving your party. If you can convince your dad to let you cut loose more often, I’m sure the whole class would dig a round two at casa de Agreste.”

Chloe flicked her ponytail back. “Yes. Hopefully next time he gets better live entertainment.”

Nino’s eyes narrowed, but Adrien was only looking towards his best bro. “Really? I hired only the best for this show.” The anger passed, and Nino gave him a warm smile. 

“Thanks, dude. Glad that some people here have got taste.” He went back to his music, ignoring Chloe, who huffed and went back down to the first level.

Adrien, pleased at this turn of events, looked back to Nino and Alya, the latter of whom was staring at him with arms crossed. “...Is something wrong, Alya?”

“Of course there is! Why did you invite _Chloe_ of all people?!”

He held up his hands. “She is my oldest friend, and for a long time was my only friend. I can’t just leave her behind.”

“Boy, you might need to or else she’ll do her damnedest to make sure she is your only friend _again_.”

He looked back down at the crowd. Chloe was off by herself - even from a distance he could tell she was trying to hurl insults at people for attention, but no one was listening to her at all. To Adrien, who knew her better than most people did, he could see that she was getting uncomfortable. She didn’t like _not_ being the center of attention, and being ignored was perhaps the worst thing in her mind.

Eventually, she settled next to the pastries stand. Nathalie walked into the room and spotted Adrien, beckoning him to come over to her. By the time he got close, he heard Chloe talking. “Go and get some more ice! This punch is lukewarm at _best_.” It was with mounting horror that he realized she was trying to command _Nathalie_ , who was sending her a death glare that would have killed on the spot anyone with greater self-awareness. Chloe, however, was busy filing her nails, blissfully unaware of the boiling sea of anger near her.

He reached Nathalie in time, stepping outside the room with her. It was difficult, but he managed to diffuse the tension, taking some tongue lashes from Nathalie in Chloe’s place. Once back in the room, he moved between people, doing his best to smooth over the bad vibes that Chloe was trying to bring in. When he glanced at her, he noticed her watching him and fuming. 

He checked the time. Two hours till midnight. Deep breath - it was time. A surge of Chat Noir flair gripped him and he decided to take the rock wall up to Nino’s perch.

Sitting there were his three main friends. He seemed to have interrupted a conversation between Alya and Marinette, who quickly ended it once he landed next to them. Alya was about to speak, but Adrien started first, “Nino! Can you play the slow dance music?”

With a knowing smile, he switched the tracks. Looking over the glass railing, he saw the crowd pairing off into couples. He turned back towards his friends. Alya gave him a wink, and nudged Marinette, who had been nodding to the music. She looked around, her eyes widening as she saw him walking towards her.

“Hey, Marinette. Can I have this dance?”

She laughed nervously as he took her hand and guided her down to the impromptu dance floor. Once there, he placed his hands on her waist, while hers settled on his shoulders. She was a bit awkward at first, but quickly relaxed. She was pressed up against him, her head nuzzled against his chest and his head resting on the crown of her head. This close, he caught scent of her strawberry shampoo, something that usually only happened in those vulnerable moments late at night as they began to fall asleep against each other. The rest of the world melted away and it was just them, swaying to the music. _I don’t think I could get used to this, but I want to try anyway._

“WHAT?! HOW _DARE_ YOU!” 

This ungodly screech cut through the dreamlike state he had settled into, and drew all attention to the speaker. Which was, of course, Chloe. Adrien was already in a sour mood after being interrupted, which only worsened as she began to rant, made all the clearer when Nino cut the music. 

Chloe split them apart, but Marinette stood her ground, even as she got into her face. “Back off, Chloe. You’re ruining the party.”

“No! I’m sick and tired of you stealing away everyone’s attention. They all _loved_ me before you decided to stick your nose into things. I was content to sit quietly by, but now you have the NERVE to steal _MY_ Adrikins away from me? You two-faced, clumsy little _witch_ I-”

She didn’t get much further than that when Adrien grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her towards the door. 

“Adrikins?” He didn’t respond. Everyone who saw his face was scrambling to get out of the way, but he didn’t care. His mind was single purpose, and he felt searing anger on the tip of his tongue. But, unlike Chloe, he didn’t want to make a scene. “Adrie-”

Over his shoulder, he shouted, “Nino! Start the music back up!” Chloe in tow, he opened the door and slammed it shut, the songs picking up again. 

\---------------------------------------------------------

Marinette was ready to defend herself, and was incredibly surprised when Adrien dragged Chloe kicking and screaming out of the room. She went to follow, curious about what Adrien would say to his oldest friend after _that_. Alya was at her side in a moment, and caught her wrist.

“Girl, Adrien looked serious. Whatever he is going to say to her, he didn’t want other people hearing.”

“I… I feel like I need to. This is all because of me.”

Alya gave her a flat look. “No, this is all ‘cause Chloe is a little brat. Adrien is a sweet guy - this friendship break up was bound to happen eventually.”

“Please, Alya… My gut is telling me I need to hear what he’s going to say.”

She sighed, but let go. “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Marinette rushed out into the hallway, ducking behind the solid banister. From there, she had an excellent view of Adrien and Chloe, who were standing at the bottom of the stairs in front of the entrance. 

“What the hell was that, Chloe?” His voice was clipped, and harsh.  
‘  
She moved forward as if to grab him by the shirt. “Oh, Adrikin-”

“No. No Adrikins. None of that anymore.” 

This put her on the back foot and she struggled to get momentum again. “I- uh, Adrien. I was just trying to protect you! All she wants is to sink her claws into you, all just to spite me! She is _such_ a little brat-” 

“You will NOT talk about my friends like that, _especially_ not Marinette, do you understand?” This was said almost in a snarl as he glared at her. For once, Chloe did not have a response. With how intimidating Adrien managed to look, Marinette almost felt sorry for Chloe. Then she remembered the years of bullying she had endured and waited for Adrien’s next words.

“All you do is hurl abuse at people and step on them for your convenience. People don’t like you, not because of anything Marinette did, but because you have given them _no reason to like you_. You don’t just choose not to do the right thing - you go _out of your way_ to make other people miserable. I’ve been willing to give all the chances in the world to become better, but you went too far this time.”

“W-what are you saying, Adrik- Adrien?” 

“We aren’t friends anymore, Chloe. I’m going back to my party - with my friends - and you are going to leave.”

“Adrien-”

“Good _bye_ , Chloe.”

He stormed back into his room, miraculously missing Marinette’s hiding spot. Chloe was still standing where he left her, apparently stunned into silence. After a few heartbeats, after the slamming of the door had ceased echoing, she turned around, towards a painting. It was of Adrien’s mother. 

She walked uncertainly towards it. Marinette squinted at her. _What is she doing…?_

“Hey... Emilie. It’s me, Chloe. It’s,” She choked up a bit, wiping away some tears, “it’s been a while since we’ve talked. I just… don’t know who else to turn to. Mother has always been… distant, and Daddy tries but…” She took a deep breath. “You and Adrien were always so kind to me…” Despite her best efforts, the tears were flowing freely now. “But now he’s really mad at me and I… I think I messed up.” She searched the painted eyes of the Agreste matriarch. “I don’t know what to do now. I feel so lost…” She began shaking her head and suddenly turned around and ran out the door. “I’msorryIhavetogo.”

A few tears had found their way to Marinette’s eyes as well, but she handled them better. She didn’t know what to do with this, but she did know that Adrien would be looking for her soon. She definitely didn’t want to explain what she was doing out here. As stealthily as possible she snuck back into the party, with no one the wiser. 

The rest of the festivities were nice, but the entire fiasco with Chloe had left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. After the countdown and another dance, people started slowly funneling out. Marinette, leaving with Nino and Alya, were the last ones out. 

\---------------------------------------------------------

“Trixx! Let’s pounce!”

Alya started making her way towards Master Fu’s shop, feeling the city sprawl out beneath her as she leapt from rooftop to rooftop. It was an exhilarating feeling, most of the time. But right now, she had burning questions that she needed to ask Truesight. 

Research had hit more dead ends, but everything she did have she didn’t like. He had been present for the fall of numerous empires, sacking of cities, and other calamities. Plus, she has had the same dream now multiple times. Or maybe it was different dreams of a similar scene? She wasn’t sure, but she felt it was a warning, and she couldn’t just ignore it. 

Before she knew it, she was in his lair. There he was, sitting in the sparring circle, meditating. Once her feet hit the floor, his eyes opened and he smiled warmly. “Greetings, Rena Rouge. Are you ready to-”

She cut in, eager to begin the questioning, “Have you ever hurt a miraculous bearer before?”

He didn’t seem surprised by her question. Instead, he lifted an eyebrow. “You say that with so much venom, despite having been chosen specifically to _fight_ a renegade miraculous bearer.”

“You know what I mean.”

He rose to his feet and began pacing. “ _No_ , I don’t. Of course I’ve fought traitors before. You think this Hawkmoth of yours was the only one to use a miraculous for evil?” He was scowling, either at his own mention of Hawkmoth, or at the faded memories of those like him. “I brought them down, same as I will this Hawkmoth.”

“Then what about these dreams I’ve been having? Whoever they were seemed pretty damned terrified of you.”

“As well they should be. I am not a force you want turned against you.” He took a sip from his tankard. “But tell me about these dreams. Perhaps I will recognize the time and place.”

She related what she could about them, every detail she remembered and recorded. His face grew more and more grim. “I know the time well. So bitter was the memory that I remember that lifetime even with the ritual’s censorship.” He stopped and did not seem likely to continue.

“And…? What can you tell me about it?”

He shook his head. “No. The betrayal was too great, the remembering would be too painful.” He snorted. “At least, not while I’m sober.” He set his tankard down. “But, we have training to do. Are you ready?”

She didn’t get her questions answered that night, but at least now she knew how to get them answered.

\---------------------------------------------------------

_She did everything she could, forged alliances that made her stomach churn. But it wasn’t enough._

_The rain fell, mingling her blood with the mud as the sound of fighting reached her ears. The magic of the fox dissolved around her as the miraculous went dark._

\---------------------------------------------------------

Alya awoke in a cold sweat, clutching at her gut. She had expected a terrible wound to be there when she lifted her hands, but instead she found only her unblemished skin. Reaching for the notebook, she tried to remember her own life to distance the dream of a memory from her.

It was a few days before school would start up again. She had met up with her friends for their gift exchange. Everyone got something nice, but mysteriously Marinette and Adrien had already given each other their gifts. When pressed, they simply blushed. Alya’s lips flicked upward as a brief smile passed over her features. Soon, she would rope those two dorks together. Nino was talking excitedly - he was ready to start filming his second attempt at a movie.

She loved to see him excited, and he was getting to start much earlier with the paycheck he got from working at Adrien’s party. Blondie had wanted to pay for his equipment anyway, but by giving Nino extra for his work, he managed to do so without wounding Nino’s pride. 

Deep breath. The dream was now just that - a dream. No mud, no wound, no blood. She petted the top of Trixx’s head, who was still asleep, and tried to follow him into dreaming. Hopefully this time, with less of the dreaming part.


	16. New Year, New Problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we see the aftermath of the New Year's party. Ladybug and Chat Noir train with Truesight while Alya stays home sick.

_“What in the name of gods both old and new was the point of all this?” He growled at his companion, an older man in chainmail armor, as he watched his subordinates pick over the ruins. These… ‘guardians’ he called them, were searching for any texts that the cult left behind. They would pile them up, and burn them all. He claimed the knowledge was too dangerous to exist, and Flavius Aetius couldn’t find fault in that thought. He remembered the demons he faced in that seige with a shudder._

_The battle was a decisive one, the zeal of the fanatics being no match for the disciplined lines of his legionaries, even with their fortified position. Their willingness to slaughter their own noncombatants when the battle turned against them was sickening to Flavius. To kill an opponent on the open field was one thing. But executing your own people, just to spite the enemy? Horrifying. And wasteful._

_“Trust me. This was a vital errand. Their work could not be allowed to continue.”_

_Angrily, he turned the other man to face him. “Ambrosius! The damned Huns are beating on Gaul’s doorstep, and you drag me to the Alps to dig out some thrice-cursed doomsday cultists? I need answers.”_

_Ambrosius gave a meaningful look at the jewel pinned to the commander’s chest. “You became a part of this the moment you took on that mantle. Empires come and go, but our ultimate allegiance has to lie with all humanity. If they finished what they meant to do, the Huns would be the least of Rome’s problems.”_

_Flavius did not fear losing his miraculous - Ambrosius respected him for too much to idly take it away. “And what about the dark sorcerers the Huns use? Have you forgotten about them? Every moment they run rampant in our lands, they gain more sacrifices-”_

_Ambrosius glared at him with pale blue eyes that glowed with power. “Do not think I have forgotten about those poor souls. Of course I remember. It is why I was summoned to begin with - why I chose you.” He pulled back and looked out onto the ruins again. “And where do you think the Huns learned such dark magic? The Huns were never the real threat, even though they look it to your Emperor.”_

_Flavius massaged his temples with his hand. “Emperor Valentinian will not be pleased about this. He already fears that I will seize the throne from him.”_

_“Will you?” Flavius could feel the worry underlying his friend’s statement, something that he could pick up on with their decade of camaraderie._

_He placed a comforting hand on his old friend’s shoulder. “I do not hunger for power, Truesight. I just want to see people be safe.”_

\--------------------------------------------------

Gabriel Agreste woke up, alone, in his king sized bed, the foreign memories still lingering in his mind. Reaching out to his bedside table, he took as many detailed notes about the dream as he could remember. These visions were rare and unusual, but they had already helped further his goals in the present. Ignoring them, he had decided, would be the epitome of foolishness. 

He placed the notebook back on the table and looked over his shoulder at the spot in his bed that has stayed empty for over two years now. Much had changed in his life since that day - but he had painstakingly kept their bedroom as much the same as she had left it all that time ago. Her dresser of clothes was still there, disturbed only to keep the subdued finery within clean and tidy. A painting of her sat opposite the bed, often being the first thing he sees in the morning. In that moment in time, he stood with her, holding a very young Adrien in his arms. That moment was long gone. 

But it didn’t have to be gone forever. 

Something about the dreams always made him deeply uneasy. There was often a tinge of self-loathing in his mind when he woke from them. Though it was still the early morning, a glass of wine helped relax his nerves and smooth the transition from past to present. But it seemed the past did not see fit to stay in the past, if this Truesight was any indication. Gabriel did not understand much about the forces being arrayed against him - only what he could glean from pictures from the spellbook, scraps of information from his interrogations of Nooroo, and the dreams. 

But he knew that Chat Noir and Ladybug had been on the verge of their final defeat, before this Truesight arrived. Suddenly, his position had become… precarious. With the addition of Rena Rouge, he knew that it was only his complete anonymity that prevented them from taking his miraculous. Being very, very careful and outlasting his enemies would be the only winning strategy. 

He reached the vault behind the painting just as he reached the bottom of his wine glass. He pulled out the peacock miraculous and turned it over in his hands. Allies had been hard to come by, and even now he doubted their usefulness. They came with complications and were often unreliable. 

With careful consideration, he revised his previous conclusion on strategy. His enemies were growing stronger far faster than he was. Perhaps now was the time to take risks and gamble, before his armor of smoke vanished. 

\--------------------------------------------------

Almost a week after the… eventful New Year’s party at Adrien’s house, Marinette found herself back in school. Well, back _at_ school. Hoping to live up to her New Year’s resolution of ‘not being continually late while managing her dual life better,’ she had arrived early. She was waiting outside with the other students, working on new designs in her sketchbook.

In the middle of a new hat sketch, she heard a familiar voice call out to her. “Sup, Marinette! How’s it hanging?”

She looked up at Nino. “Pretty good. Just trying to sketch out this vision I have for a summer hat.” Closing her book, she added, “But then, you know all about realizing visions, don’t you?” She flashed a smile as his face lit up. 

A few days ago, their little group had exchanged belated Christmas gifts, but the main focus of their conversation had been Nino’s movie. A couple months ago, he had been struck by inspiration and he finally revealed to them that he was done with the screenplay. 

“I’m so excited, dude! After the flop of the Horrificator, I thought my dream of horror films would be so done. I really think I have something here! But… the screenplay was just the beginning. It’s not going to be easy to do the rest of the movie.”

She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry! Maybe I can pull something together as class president - and I’m sure even if I can’t, plenty of people in class would love to help out.”

“Thanks, Marinette. I know I can always count on you.” She gave him a nod as they settled into a comfortable silence - Marinette occupied with her sketches, and Nino with his playlists. 

Before she became fully immersed in her art, she caught Chloe staring at her from a distance away. Chloe quickly looked away, but Marinette was instantly suspicious. _Maybe she wants to make me pay for what happened on New Year’s? Or maybe she is in a foul mood in general and just sees me as her usual punching bag._ The memory of the years of torment she had faced at Chloe’s hands flashed before her.

“Don’t worry about her, dude.” Nino whispered to her, startling her out of her theorizing. “She doesn’t have power over us anymore and she knows it. I bet she doesn’t know what to do with herself any more.”

Whispering back, she asked, “And what if she decides she wants to come after me? She certainly seemed to think I was the problem on New Years.”

He puffed out his chest. “She’ll need to get through me first, dude.” 

She smiled and not long after, Alya and Adrien arrived, just in time for class to open. 

They took their seats, everyone funneling into the classroom. Marinette reached her seat and watched her friends take theirs. 

Then Chloe walked in. Adrien stared straight past her and refused to so much as look at her. Marinette thought she saw hurt flash across her face, but it was quickly replaced by a glare as she reached her seat. She placed her chin on her hand as she stared forward at the wall. She was oddly quiet, but her rhythmic tapping of her fingers on the desk proved that even in silence she could be annoying.

Adrien glared forward for a moment before he began talking animatedly with Nino about his upcoming film. 

“I’ve been wondering ever since you told us you finished the script - why vampires?”

“Weell, remember when that Truesight dude was in class?”

A flicker of a smile passed over Adrien’s face. “Kinda hard to forget, bro.”

“You know when Juleka asked about scary monsters and he went on about vampires? That stuff majorly freaked me out. _I loved it._ With his words as the base, I built up a horror story around feral vampires picking off the heroes one. By. One.” 

Nino was not, by himself, a scary dude. Marinette would never say it to him, but he was more a teddy bear kind of guy. Finding out he had a thing for horror, and finding out he was _good_ at horror, had been a shock. But seeing him describe with unrestrained relish his story idea was frightening. 

“What are you guys talking about?” Juleka’s monotone voice cut in.

Nino filled her in, with the side effect of announcing to the rest of the class his movie. Of all their classmates, only Mylene didn’t seem to be excited, but only because she, like Marinette, didn’t much like scary movies. 

Not that fear was about to stop her, of course. “I-I don’t think I should play a leading role this time.” Her declaration was met with a chorus of giggling from the class. “But I’m sure I can help in other ways!”

“I recall enjoying my time spent learning and applying audio visual editing techniques - if you need me again, I would be glad to help.” Max pushed up his glasses to end his statement. Markov rose up from Max’s book bag. 

“I do not believe I was present for this referenced previous film - but I am eager to learn about what you call horror. Can you define: Vampires?”

Before anyone else could add anything, Chloe cut in. “I want in.” A charged silence greeted her, and Marinette was surprised to note that Chloe seemed to realize how tense the air had become. “What? You’re going to need as much help as you can get.”

Alya put her hands on her hips as she glared at Chloe. “Which is precisely why we don’t want you in this. You’d hurt production more than help it.”

Chloe seemed scandalized. “How could you _possibly_ not want my help?”

Marinette saw Adrien’s expression sour before he put on a neutral mask. Nino held up his arms in an X. “Oh no. No way after what happened last time. I am _not_ going to see you sink another of my movies.”

“Oh come _on_. That movie was thrown together at the last minute anyway. It probably wasn’t going to go anywhere, no matter what I did or did not do.”

Without turning to face her, Adrien barked, “Back. Off. Chloe.” He hadn’t spoken loudly, but in the silence of the room, it roared like thunder. 

But who it came from seemed to have gotten to Chloe more than anything. It was only a few more minutes until class, but those minutes were blissfully free of Chloe’s voice. 

\--------------------------------------------------

After classes were over, Marinette said goodbye to her friends and was about to make her way across the street when she heard someone calling her name from beside the flight of stairs leading out of the school. This would normally be a sign to run away, especially when she saw that it was Chloe calling to her. She very nearly turned away and made the quick walk over to the bakery.

No one would blame her. The mayor’s daughter had a been a terror to everyone she met, and caused more than her fair share of akumas, just through sheer personal awfulness. Even Adrien, the only one who had been willing to stand by her, had officially renounced her. No one would hold it against her if she just kept walking. 

She remembered Chloe desperately reaching out to the portrait of Emilie Agreste. Clenching her teeth, she walked toward the other girl. Regardless of who it was, Marinette would not refuse a cry for help.

Once there, they stood in awkward silence for a few moments, Chloe looking everywhere but Marinette. For her part, Marinette crossed her arms and stared directly at Chloe. The moments dragged into minutes. Marinette rolled her eyes and began to walk away. 

Grabbing her arm, Chloe stopped her. “Stop!” She swallowed. She took a deep breath and looked Marinette in the eyes. “Please?”

“We can’t just stand behind the stairs forever, Chloe. What do you need?”

There was anguish in her face as she responded, forcing out the words she did not want to say. “I… I need you to help me... be nice.” 

Marinette blinked. 

_What._

_I mean, yeah, Chloe would need help with that, but…_ “Why me? You have been very clear about how much you don’t like me.” _And there is that whole thing were you screamed in my face and had to be dragged away by the host, but what’s a public meltdown between… enemies?_

Chloe’s mouth became a thin line as she glared at Marinette. She refrained from saying anything immediately, however - which Marinette supposed was progress. “You know what? Yes. I don’t like you.” _Aaaand progress gone._ “But everyone else does! _I_ wanted to be the most popular girl in school, but do you know who became that instead?” Before she had a chance to respond, Chloe was poking her in the shoulder. “You! And who is constantly prattling on about friendship and working together? You.” She calmed down, and looked away from Marinette. In a small, hurt voice, she finished, “So who better to show me how to be kind to people?”

“I… don’t know, Chloe.”

She put her hands on her hips and glared at Marinette. “What do you mean ‘I don’t know’? I’m putting myself out here trying to be better and you _want_ me to fail. You are letting your hatred of me-”

“I don’t _hate_ you. I just… I’ve seen what you’re like. You’ve tried being nice before and it lasts however long it takes for Adrien to accept you again. Then you go right back to being mean again until you do something that ticks him off.” She put her hands on Chloe’s shoulders, who seemed surprised at the sudden contact. “How do I know you won’t do that again?”

She didn’t have a response to that. 

Marinette put her hands back at her sides. “ _You_ need to make the first steps. When I think you’ve set a trend for yourself, then I can help.” She started walking away, but stopped just before passing her. “I don’t want to see you fail Chloe. Not at this. Good luck.” 

Without looking back, she made her way back home and started on her homework. She wanted to get it out of the way now, before the training session that night. 

\--------------------------------------------------

Adrien stood on the roof of a restaurant, staring out at night time Paris. The warm yellow lights filled the streets almost making him forget the chill that still lay heavy in the air. It was a sight that he knew he would never get tired of any time soon. He took a deep breath, catching the scent of the food below him… and strawberries on the wind…

He turned around to see Ladybug approaching. Hand on his chest, he gave a brief bow. “Good evening, my lady. How are you handling the cold?”

She gave a half-hearted smile which only became more genuine when she saw him wearing her beanie. If she was surprised at the addition of Marinette’s scarf, she didn’t show it. “I’ll be happier in spring.” She wrapped her arms around her to try to stop her shivering. “For now, I’ll just have to deal with it.”

“Well, I can’t offer you my fur coat, but…” Adrien removed his scarf and wrapped it around Ladybug. “It isn’t much, but it is warm and made with love.”

“Is that so, kitty?” He placed an arm around her shoulders. _I just want to make sure Ladybug is warm, after all. I hate to see her shivering like this._ She leaned into the half-hug, pressing against Adrien. 

“Y-yes. My number one fan made it, after all.” Ladybug lifted an eyebrow at him. Adrien felt strangely defensive. “It’s true!”

“I didn’t know you could sew.” When he pouted at her, she simply giggled. “Oh don’t be such a grumpy cat. I’m sure your number one fan is alright.”

“Marinette is a treasure, I’ll have you know. _She_ thinks that I’m cool. And funny! The real _cat’s meow_.” 

Ladybug rolled her eyes. “I never said you weren’t, kitty. So is this all you see in her?” 

“Of course not. That’s just the icing on the cake. Bugaboo, Marinette is _amazing_.” Her head jolted back as he started pouring his heart out about one of his few friends. Not that he could let Ladybug know, but he adored that she saw fit to befriend _both_ Adrien and Chat Noir. “She is kind, and funny. Not as funny as me, of course - she hardly uses _any_ puns. She is loyal, and always ready to do what’s right.” He nudged Ladybug. “Reminds me a lot of a certain badass hero partner of mine. Maybe we should keep her in mind if we need a fourth member of the team?”

“Should I be jealous, kitty?” If Adrien had been looking at her, he would have seen the wince that immediately followed her rushed words. But he was looking out at the horizon, admiring the sparkle of the city. 

“Maybe, my lady.” He smiled at her. “Although I love spending time alone with you, I think we’re going to be late if we don’t get going.”

\--------------------------------------------------

_“Should I be jealous, kitty?”_

_“Maybe, my lady.”_

He had said them so easily, so readily. To Marinette, that all but confirmed what Chat Noir had said while in her room. Was he really giving up on pursuing Ladybug? She felt like he still cared for her, loved her even, but maybe he really did accept that she wouldn’t love him back. 

What awful timing for her to fall for him then. Or, maybe, she always had these emotions, but seeing him about to move on from her forced her to come to grips with them. Now Marinette had to pretend everything was alright despite having an internal meltdown over her conflicted feelings. She did her best to shove these emotions aside while they entered Truesight’s lair.

Chat glanced around the room. “Where’s Rena Rouge?” His voice was tinged with concern.

Marinette had been surprised at how quickly they had forged a bond, but the two were best friends at this point. While it didn’t hold a candle to his partnership with Marinette, they got along a lot better than she had expected of the occasionally jealous black cat of Paris. 

“She called a few minutes ago. She was struck with illness earlier in the day - food poisoning or the like, I believe she said. In any case, we will have to press on without her.” 

Marinette frowned. True, Alya had said she was feeling ill, that wouldn’t have stopped her from coming if she really wanted to. Something was up with her. Her gut was telling her that she wouldn’t be forthcoming with Ladybug. She’d have to find a way to delicately ask about it as Marinette. 

“Oh!” Chat perked up. “I almost forgot - I heard that there was theft from the Louvre. The weird part is that it happened _while we were fighting the akuma_.” 

“Aye, I read that in the paper a couple days back. They were frustratingly vague on what was stolen, which makes it hard to know if I need to be worried.” Truesight rubbed his chin.

“Do you think Hawkmoth’s behind it? He isn’t usually a big picture kind of villain.” Marinette paused, and turned to Truesight. “You read newspapers?”

He shrugged. “I like being informed, and I can usually get it on my way to picking up some coffee. I enjoy Fu’s tea and all, but a change of pace is refreshing in the morning.”

“Well, anyway,” Marinette tried to move on from imagining Truesight doing something as mundane as drinking coffee in a cafe, “What do you think?”

While Truesight considered the question, Chat added, “I’ve been told that the artifacts were Roman, if that helps. We might need to pay a visit to the Louvre if we want to know more.”

“Romans, eh?” Truesight’s face was grim as he looked over at his books. “Aye. That would be very wise. If we are lucky, then it was common thieves and opportunists. If we are not, then Hawkmoth may be plotting something more than one akuma at a time.” He clapped his hands together. “But let us get to the lessons for today. I would feel better if I improved your defensive stances today…”

The training went by quickly - the now-standard martial training, the meditation, and some exercises that they could do at home. Marinette was growing more and more confident in her ability to hold her own against the worst that Hawkmoth could throw at her. The session ended early, but they were unwilling to go home just yet.

“Seriously though, how do you pay for coffee and newspapers?” Realization seemed to strike Chat Noir. He pointed an accusatory finger at Truesight. “You aren’t making Master Fu cover it, are you?”

With a sly smile, Truesight pushed aside Chat’s hand. “I can make money on my own, you know.”

Marinette imagined Truesight working a nine to five office job and snickered. She heard Chat doing the same. Their mentor was watching them, unamused. “I’m sorry, but it is hard to imagine you with a job.”

“I used to wander the land, slaying monsters and plying my trade. The life of the adventurer was mine to live.”

“Yeah, but there aren’t that many dragons and princesses in towers these days.” Chat was sitting on the floor, leaning back with his legs spread out. He was watching Truesight was a slowly building grin. 

“Kid, I have other skills than fighting.”

Marinette was slowly drifting away from the conversation, instead staring at Truesight’s hair. In a whisper, partially muffled by the fingers that were holding up her head, she asked, “I wonder what _I_ would look like as a redhead...?”

It wasn’t the first time she’d asked the question - Alya’s hair had already prompted that idle wondering before. She’d never gotten an opportunity to act on it, of course, since her dark hair made it difficult to dye properly, or cheaply.

Truesight glanced between her and Chat, and she realized she had said that louder than she had intended. He gave a smug grin towards Chat. “Well, you are about to see some of my other skills. Wait here.” He went up the ladder, leaving the two Parisian heroes along.

After a few moments of silence, he said, “Good, I’d bet.”

“Hm?”

“As a redhead? You’d still look good.”

She laughed. “You have that good imagination, do you?”

He shook his head. “Don’t need it. It’d still be you, and you are beautiful. Regardless of the color of your hair.”

“Aw, thanks. You are a pretty well-groomed cat, too.”

“What can I say, I do my best.” He flexed to add to his point, but this only succeeded in causing them to dissolve into giggle fits. 

When Truesight returned, he was carrying with him a bowl filled with what seemed to be ordinary water. He took his normal spot at the table, but sat facing away from it. The bowl was placed on the table, his left hand hovering near it. 

“Are you ready, lass?”

“For... what?” 

“To dye your hair. It will be fleeting, of course - after a few hours your hair will have returned to its normal hue.”

“I… don’t know…” 

“Oo! Oo! Can you do me then?” Chat’s tail began eagerly sweeping back and forth as he raised his hand.

Truesight laughed. “Sure, lad. What color do you want?” Chat scooted over to sit in front of Truesight, his head at about stomach height to the seated warrior.

In a daze - she hadn’t expected Chat to be so eager - she quipped her favorite color, “Pink. Bubblegum pink for the silly kitty.”

His eyes widened in excitement. “Ooo, yeah, do that!”

“As you wish.” He dunked his fingers in the water and began running them through Chat’s hair, occasionally stopping to add more water. The quiet was disturbed only by the gentle tune that Truesight sung. She didn’t recognize the language, but the tone suggested a lullaby. As the blonde locks became soaked with water, they didn’t darken like they would normally. Instead, they slowly faded into a very light pink, getting closer to the desired hue with each pass of his fingers. Chat, for his part, looked content as he let his head be massaged. 

By the end of it, she had a pink-haired Chat in front of her, scrambling for a mirror. She placed a hand on his arm and pulled out her yoyo, switching it to compact form. He marvelled at his appearance in the tiny mirror, face splitting into a dumbfounded grin. “I can’t wait to see what it looks like with my normal hair style!”

 _Chat had different hair in civilian form? Well, that scraps my mental image of civilian Chat, then._

“Now, are you sure you didn’t want to try it, lass?”

Marinette debated internally, but if Chat was alright with it, and it turned out fine… “Okay, let’s do this.”

As she got situated in front of Truesight, she heard the gentle splash of water behind her. “Now, I assume you meant red like my hair? Crimson, essentially?” She nodded as he undid her hair ties. 

He began the humming again as she felt his hands run through her hair. She wasn’t surprised that Chat had looked so happy - whatever this was, Truesight was good at it. The massage was relaxing, and the song put her at ease, even if she couldn’t understand the lyrics. The situation reminded her of the times when her father would try to help her style her hair, both of them improving at it as the years wore on. Which brought a question to her mind.

Eyes closed, she asked, “Where did you learn to do this?”

His pause was brief, but noticeable. “As you may have noticed, I wear my hair long, like most of my people. I have practice with managing hair.” She felt as if he wasn’t telling them the whole story, but decided not to pry.

“What about the actual color changing?”

He laughed. “This is nothing. A minor cantrip compared to the feats I could accomplish long ago.” The splash of fingers in water. “The water normally isn’t necessary, but it is a useful aid in this world.”

“Are you weaker than you were, then?”

Another pause, but she could feel this one was more in thought than surprise. “No. The world of today lacks the magic that my home had - and lacks the magic that it possessed centuries ago.”

Chat’s ears drooped. “That’s pretty sad.”

Truesight snorted. “No, that is just according to plan. If magic returns, then so too will the Great Enemy.” A wistful sigh escaped him. “While I miss my old powers, their return would mean dark times for this world.”

“According to plan? Did _you_ make magic go away?”

“In banishing the Great Enemy, the barriers between the prime material and the magical realms strengthened. Magic trickles into this world, not near enough to do any amazing deeds with.” He finished combing through her hair and settled his hands on her shoulders. There was mirth in his voice as he finished, “But still enough magic to bring joy to people.” He patted her on the back, which she took as a signal to stand.

She redid her pigtails, and admired her new red hair in her mirror. After a few moment’s consideration, she shook her head. “I like it, but I think I like my normal color better.”

They said their goodbyes and headed home. When Marinette woke up in the morning, her hair was the same color it had always been. 

\--------------------------------------------------

Alya was lying in bed, laptop on her legs as she typed up the latest Ladyblog post. The holidays had put her behind on updates and she was working hard to get a backlog set up again. Which proved difficult when all of the major events that would normally provide her with ample fuel for posts were events that she was part of as Rena Rouge.

Nestled in her hair was Trixx. She was sure he had made a nest up there, but she wasn’t complaining since he was a surprisingly excellent editor and beta. _Who knew unimaginably ancient beings could be good to bounce ideas off of?_ She reached up to where she felt he was and rubbed between his ears. _And so soft, too. Ladybug and Chat Noir are so lucky to have had kwamis to keep them company for all this time._

When she retracted her hand, she found Trixx had latched onto her finger, gently biting it and kicking it with his hind legs. Upside down, he looked at her with his big purple eyes, completely undisturbed by his change in location. “Why are you still working on that? I thought you wanted to do research on Alric’s past.”

“I have a reputation to uphold, and fans that I need to satisfy, for starters. Second, why do you call him Alric? I thought he preferred Truesight.”

“Alric is his name. Truesight is a reminder to himself - who he is, and who he ought to be. We kwamis are on a first name basis with that old sorcerer.” He let go of her finger to float around her head. “I get why you’d want to skip out, with all those dreams you’ve been having, but we should do some of the meditations, at least.”

“You and Truesight go way back, don’t you?” She set her laptop to the side. Forcing herself to write when she had nothing wouldn’t help the quality of her blog, and meditation was just about the only other thing she could do right now anyway.

Trixx gave a toothy grin as he nodded. “Yup. He is the human we’ve dealt with the longest, and the only return customer.” The grin faded as he continued. “But that magic makes him forget a lot… it feels like having a sibling with memory loss a lot of the time. Always talking about the glory days at the beginning, but unable to remember everything between.”

“I’m sorry, Trixx.”

“It’s alright, kit. I’m glad he is around. It’s been a long time since he was here last.” He zipped over to her laptop, opening up the few posts she’d written - and that included the Ladynoir fanfiction. He’d teased her about those at first - at least, until he saw the robust Rena Rouge fanfic community. “I’ll do some proofreading while you focus. Never much liked meditating anyway. Always more of Wayzz’s thing.”

The world fell away from Alya as she began her exercises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea of Chat Noir / Adrien with pink hair came up from buggachat on Tumblr and I just so loved the idea I had to make it happen in my own story.
> 
> Also: WOOOO! I broke 100k words for the entire story with this chapter! **unleashes single party popper**


	17. Acceptance and Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dreams continue, Marinette goes to school, and Truesight tells a story he'd rather forget.

_Tears came as the realization hit her: Truesight was dying..._

_“Please, don’t cry, lass.”_

_His words startled Kanika out of her sorrow. The old man lying in a slowly growing pool of his own blood was watching her through pale blue eyes. Here, dying in front of her, was the man who had picked her up off the streets of Ur, given her the power to save the world…_

_...and yet she was unable to save him. She looked away, in shame and in anger._

_“I finished writing the ritual.”_

_Begrudgingly, she turned back to the head she was cradling. He at least deserved some comfort in his final moments. His words stirred a memory of hers. She remembered a conversation with him, some months ago - after another close call, and he began thinking of the future. Of a world that still needed his help. A world that might soon have to go on without him._

_“This is not the end.”_

_She shook her head. It was too much to hope for. The belief in his divinity had been shattered after the close call in Lagash. But, then, perhaps they had still held some faith even now…_

_“I will return.”_

_He gently brushed the back of his hand against her cheek and met the eyes of each of the surrounding heroes. “Be strong, for each other, and for the world. I will always be with you.”_

_They stayed with him until the sun set, and his life ebbed away._

\-------------------------------------------------------------

Marinette woke up, startled and aware. Belatedly, she realized her pillow was wet and she sat up. Raising a finger to her face, she found dampness there as well. She had been crying in her sleep. A quick check of her phone told her it was six in the morning and a sigh escaped her. _Can’t go back to sleep now. Not after that dream._

She turned on the lamp and found Tikki floating in place, watching her with great concern. 

“Marinette… what happened?”

“It… it was just a dream. A very, very vivid one, but probably just a dream.” Some uncertainty crept into her voice. “...Right?”

“Maybe. But maybe not. These dreams might have been memories of previous ladybug bearers.” Tikki floated closer and was leaning forward with trepidation. “What did you see?”

“Well… there was eight people. Me, Truesight, and six others. Truesight was… really badly hurt. I… I think he died.” Marinette took a steadying breath. Talking about it like this was bringing the foreign emotions back, and she needed to blink rapidly to keep herself from tearing up.

Tikki waited patiently, and asked in a soft voice, “Do you remember any names?”

Marinette tentatively sifted through the memory. “Y-yes. I was… Kanika, from… Ur? And there was something about Lagash.” At the mention of the last name, Tikki winced and placed a comforting arm on Marinette’s cheek. 

Quietly, she said, “I remember Kanika. So kind, so giving.” She smiled. “You two would’ve been best of friends.” Her smile faded and her eyes became hazy. “Everyone else lost a mentor that day. _She_ lost a father.” Marinette reached up and set her kwami in her palms.

The thought of Truesight’s lost memories flashed through her head. Tentatively, she asked, “How... many Ladybugs do you remember?” Tikki stared at her with an intensity that reminded her of the countless years Tikki had lived through. 

“All of them.”

A tense moment passed between them, the realization of things best left unsaid. Marinette cleared her throat and set Tikki on a pillow.

“So… what does this dream mean? Why am I having them?”

Tikki gave a tiny shrug. “Maybe it means nothing. Maybe it is answering questions you didn’t know you had.” Tikki sighed. “This would have happened eventually, but the presence of Truesight has sped things along that otherwise would have taken years.” Once again, she floated up to Marinette’s face. “Are you going to be alright?” 

“Yeah… I think the emotions just caught me off guard, is all. The dream itself was rather peaceful.”

“I’m glad. We’ll be meeting with Truesight tomorrow - maybe we can get this resolved and stop the dreams.”

Marinette nodded. While it was interesting and all, she had enough problems already without throwing in weird magic dreams to the mix. 

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------

_The attack had come swiftly. Chiron - or Truesight, as Heracles had come to know him over the years - hadn’t even had time to put on his armor, instead charging into the open with only his unbreakable sword for protection. But he hadn’t needed armor, since Heracles was there to aid his aging foster father, his bow picking off any of the beasts that attempted to flank him._

_As Truesight thrust his sword into the last of the centaurs, stilling it, he growled, “Where the hell did they come from? What riled the Great Enemy up like this?”_

_Heracles knew. He remembered his actions earlier that day. But he didn’t answer. Partially because he didn’t want to explain why he had been in that part of the countryside. Mostly because he was pulling out an arrow stained with hydra’s blood and taking aim at Chiron’s unarmored back._

_The arrow flew true and pierced Chiron’s flesh. His veins became visible as the poison glowed purple through them. He fell forward, and Heracles threw aside his bow, running to catch him. Holding his oldest friend in his arms, Chiron’s eyes met his, and he watched the tears of his father begin to fall. A trembling, poison-weakened hand reached out to cup Heracles’ face. His lips moved, trying to ask any number of questions Heracles knew must be running through his mind, but only one question escaped:_

_“Why?”_

_It was a question he had expected, but he had not anticipated how it would pierce him just as surely as his arrow had cut through Chiron. He choked, but managed to give a response. He owed him that much at least._

_“For love.”_

_Heracles watched as the light faded from Truesight’s eyes and only once it had gone completely did he allow himself to cry, alone, in front of the home he had been raised in._

\-------------------------------------------------------------

When the dream ended, Adrien felt his gut still tied up in knots - overwhelming guilt warring with relief. Nauseated by the lingering intense emotions on his actual body, Adrien woke up and stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom. While he was hunched over the toilet, emptying his stomach, he saw Plagg float behind him in the mirror. When there was a pause in his retching, Plagg spoke.

“Something you ate not agree with you, kid? Maybe if you ate more cheese like I recommended you’d-”

Even in his terrible state of mind and physical distress, Adrien had the presence of mind to roll his eyes. “No… no, it was this dream.” 

“A… dream?” 

It was the feigned casualness of the question, the way that it put Plagg on the backfoot, that drew Adrien’s attention. When he looked back, he saw Plagg’s concern etched on his face. For a kwami that was usually pretty reserved with his affection, it was a red flag to Adrien. 

On weak legs, Adrien shuffled to the sink and tried to get the awful taste out of his mouth. After he was done, he turned to Plagg. “I just watched myself _kill_ Truesight. What do you know about it?”

“Well, it wasn’t a dream.” He held up a paw to stop Adrien’s interjection. “I mean, yeah, to you it was a dream. But it really happened. You lived through someone else’s memory.” He began floating back into the bedroom.

“Oh… so all those other dreams…”

Plagg’s head whipped back to look at him. “Other dreams? This isn’t the first one?”

“Well… no.”

“Adrien,” Plagg’s voice took on that ever-so-rare quality that Adrien was sure Plagg thought was an air of authority, “I am your kwami, but more than that, I am your friend. You know you can talk to me about these things. You don’t have to keep it to yourself.”

“I know, I know. But the other dreams weren’t this… strong.”

Plagg looked over Adrien. “You should stay home today, kid. You’ll be feeling that dream all day.”

Adrien was about to respond, only to be cut off by a rising surge of nausea. Maybe Plagg had the right idea… 

\-------------------------------------------------------------

Marinette shocked her parents by being awake and downstairs long before their normal daily routine of trying to coax her out of bed. After getting dressed and having breakfast, she was ready for school.

She met Alya outside, and they walked into class together. After filling her in on some of the newest updates for the Ladyblog, they started watching videos while waiting for class to start. Her peers slowly filed into the classroom, but once there were mere minutes remaining, she keenly felt the gaping hole in front of her. 

Curiosity got the best of her and she leaned forward to tap Nino on the shoulder. She gestured towards Adrien’s spot with her thumb. “Where is he?”

“It’s a bummer, dude. Adrien got way sick and he’s home for the day.”

She tried her best not too look too crestfallen as she watched his empty spot. After her rude awakening this morning, she was hoping that some pleasant daydreaming would help get her mind off of it. And staring at a certain blonde would make that so much easier. When she looked back up, Nino was giving her a smug smile. 

“Dude’s probably not too doing much. You could text him if you miss him so much.”

Marinette blushed, but didn’t deny his claim. Instead, she pulled out her phone and checked her contacts. Adrien’s entry (<3 Sunshine Prince <3) was there and waiting. With a mental ‘sure, why not?’, she sent him a text.

**Marinette:** Hey, Adrien! Nino said you were sick today. I hope you get better soon!

Ms. Bustier walked into the room and Marinette moved her phone out of her line of sight. She began the traditional kind words of the day. Everything went as usual until Chloe and Mylene were called up.

Chloe had a carefully blank expression on her face, and had been unusually quiet to start the day. This lack of response from Chloe seemed to set Mylene on edge. They stood still for a few moments before Ms. Bustier cleared her throat, prompting Mylene to jump and glance between her and Chloe. This grew some giggles out from some of the class.

“R-right. Uh, Chloe. You…. uhhh…. Haven’t belittled me in a few days… so… thanks?”

Her voice had grown steadily quieter as Chloe stared at her. Once she was finished, Chloe looked her up and down, and said, “You look… nice today. You’ve pulled off,” she broadly gestured at all of Mylene, “this nicely. So good job, I guess.”

This was nothing new - Chloe had been giving tepid praise the last few rounds. On the one hand, Marinette was glad she at least wasn’t actively trying to upset people anymore. On the other, if this was her idea of trying to be nice, it wasn’t a good effort. She let out a disappointed sigh. Like many things about Chloe, this attempt was very superficial. Before she could finish that thought, she was reminded of the heartfelt monologue Chloe had with a missing woman in a painting.

_Maybe there is more to her than I give her credit for._

Class was beginning in earnest, and Marinette took the opportunity to check her phone. She already had a text from Adrien. Upon opening it, she discovered he had sent it almost immediately after receiving her text. A frown crossed her face as she thought of him, home alone, and desperate for human contact. After lingering on that thought for a few moments longer, she remembered to actually read the text.

**Adrien:** Yeah, it must’ve been food poisoning or something. But don’t worry! I’ll definitely be back to school tomorrow!

Relief flooded her - both that he’d be alright soon, and that he’d be in front of her again. With occasional glances up, she sent him another text, determined to keep him some kind of company. 

**Marinette:** That’s great! What are you doing now?

She felt her phone buzz a few minutes later - and then a few times more. Ms. Bustier was attentively facing the class for a while, and she wasn’t able to check it. Eventually, her teacher’s vigilance waned, and she pulled up the texts.

**Adrien:** Homework and anime. 

**Adrien:** Maths and Sailor Moon. plus some piano practice later

**Adrien:** Do you watch anime?

**Marinette:** No you might remember im more a disney girl, lol. 

**Marinette:** I didn’t know you played. 

The same routine as before - cautiously waiting for the right opportunity to text in class. 

**Adrien:** duh, of course :P just sorta hoping you did. I annoy nino all the time about it, i was hoping there would be someone else to talk to about it

**Adrien:** yeah, i play. I was part of that band on the boat, remember?

Marinette did remember, although she was a bit too preoccupied with the boys to pay much attention to the music. Probably shouldn’t tell him _that_ , however.

**Marinette:** oh right! Sorry

**Marinette:** well, maybe next time we have a movie day we can watch some anime

**Adrien:** I’d like that :)

She didn’t get a chance to text him again until lunch break. Without his best bro, Nino had latched onto her and Alya. Both of them were trying to organize another group outing.

“Bummer, dude. We won’t be able to get Adrien with us for a couple of weeks.” There was something about the cadence of his voice that made her wary. Almost like it was a line written in advance.

“Yeah, definitely. In fact, it won’t be until the fourteenth of February that we can all get together.” Alya looked at Marinette meaningfully, and it suddenly clicked.

“ _What_? You want me to go out with Adrien on Saint Valentine’s Day?!”

Nino responded, “Well, you’d be going out with _all_ of us.” Alya elbowed Nino, glancing at him reproachfully.

“Girl, we’ll all be there so it won’t be a date if you aren’t ready.” Marinette let out a breath, some measure of calm returning to her. Alya added, “Although, we haven’t told Adrien the day we’ve decided on yet, so we’ll leave the honor to you.”

Marinette flailed her arms around her head. “Wuh-what? Why?”

Alya grinned at Marinette over her lunch. “Well, I’ve noticed _someone_ has been texting the sunshine prince an awful lot today. What’s one more text?”

_When you put it that way…_ “Okay. Okay, I’ll tell him.” She pulled out her phone and very deliberately tried to compose the perfect text.

**Marinette:** We decided on the best day for hanging out! Are you up for it?

**Adrien:** Sure! But, what's the day?

Marinette reread her last text, hitting her head against the phone when she realized that she had forgotten to actually tell him the date. 

**Marinette:** Oops! Sorry! The date is on February 14th

There was a long break between the text being received and him responding. She was getting nervous, which Alya was giggling about. Nino was being more consoling, so he was more in Marinette’s good graces right now. As she pouted at Alya, her phone buzzed.

**Adrien:** Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Are you asking me on a double date?

Marinette’s eyes went wide, and she felt her cheeks heat up. _Was this encouraging? Was it a warning?_

“Girl, what did he say?” Marinette shoved the phone under Alya’s nose. Her smile, which had vanished during Marinette’s panic, reappeared in full force. “Well? What are you waiting for?”

“But I-”

“Marinette. The boy is handing himself to you on a silver platter. And you get to do this without the stammering. Do it!”

The encouraging words helped her beat back the rising tide of panic, and she tried her best to send a text to Adrien.

**Marinette:** Well, I mean, if you want it could be, but it doesn’t have to be I just think it would be nice if we could go out again, not that the last few times we were hanging out were dates, i just mean if you want it to be a date we could be so yes?

She pressed send and hoped. When the phone buzzed, her own tense nerves nearly threw the phone across the courtyard. Instead, she opened it to read his text.

**Adrien:** I’d love to go out with you. :)

\-------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien sent the text while sitting on the edge of his chair. He’d spent much longer than he cared to admit reading and reading her message, trying to find a way to respond. A part of him was incredibly worried. Where they moving too quickly? Would he be able to move on from Ladybug? But the rest of him was moved by the sheer romance of it all.

Their first date, on Saint Valentine’s Day, in the park. If that had been Marinette’s plan from the go - which he doubted, since he suspected the hand of Alya in all this - then it was a masterstroke. He was physically unable to withstand the elation he felt, so he collapsed onto his bed. 

Plagg, who had been watching over his shoulder while he texted, saw fit to comment. “Ooo la la, lover boy. Excited for your first real date?”

Adrien rolled onto his back to look at the ceiling. Excluding the afterwash of the emotions that weren’t his, he was mostly feeling… nervous. The twisting of his gut was back again, this time with added butterflies. 

Plagg’s snickering turned his attention outward again. “Don’t worry about it. She’s head over heels for you. Just be yourself and it’ll work out.”

The butterflies were still there, but as he continued to stare at his ceiling he began to smile. At least now he had something to look forward to. And who knows? Maybe this would lead to a lot of things to look forward to.

\-------------------------------------------------------------

To her credit, Marinette got through the rest of the day alright. She noticed this seemed to set Alya on edge, but Marinette liked to think that she had her emotions more under control than her friends seemed to think. So the school day went past without incident. 

It was only once she had gotten home that she popped like a champagne bottle. 

Currently, she was emitting some kind of screech that could only be heard by selection creatures on earth, like dogs. And, unfortunately, kwami. Tikki was holding her arms to the sides of her head. Marinette wasn’t certain what she thought she was covering, but she figured it was the thought that counts. 

“Mar-” Resurgence of volume. “Marin-” Still can’t hear herself. “MARINETTE.” The screaming stops. If only because Marinette needed to catch her breath. She still looked as panicked as ever, and Tikki would need to capitalize on the next few seconds as much as possible. 

“I know how you feel. This always seemed like something so far off. But, now it is happening. And that’s great! But you need to take some deep breaths for me, okay?”

Marinette gulped down air so quickly Tikki was worried she would pass out from a light head.

“N-No, stop that, please.” She put an arm on her face. “Let’s focus on something else. Like, maybe you can work on an outfit for the date? I know you have some pieces that would look especially cute.”

“Well… maybe. But… it’ll have to be perfect! This is my one shot with Adrien - I _have_ to make it count.” She turned into a hurricane of activity, pulling out a design she’d already put some work into and began tweaking it. Her lips pressed into a thin line as her emotions settled into steely determination. She had two weeks to make this perfect. And she _had_ to make it perfect. There was no other options.

A few hours passed in a blissful blur. Tikki had settled next to her on the desk, munching on a cookie. “Marinette?”

She paused and glanced over at Tikki.

“You know Adrien would be fine even if you showed up in dimestore hand-me-downs? He cares about _you_ , no matter you are wearing.” She finished her snack. “So please, promise me you won’t drive yourself crazy with this outfit?”

Marinette leaned back in her swivel chair. “I just… I want everything to go perfectly. And I need to start with myself.”

Tikki flew up in a spiral to kiss her on the nose. “You are perfect just the way you are, Marinette, and I just _know_ Adrien feels the same way.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------

Marinette was left feeling fairly confident about her kwami's words after Adrien returned to classes Friday. All day they had been catching glances from one another, and then blushing furiously. She was used to it, but Adrien… it seemed to be a struggle for him. She smiled at the memory. He was cute when he was flustered.

The fresh memory helped keep her warm as she leaped across the city, making her way towards Master Fu’s home. She passed the threshold and found the man himself sitting with a magazine and a cup of tea at the table. 

“Hey, Master Fu! How are things?” It had been a while since they had time to talk. Not that they had ever been particularly chatty with each other before, but she would always be grateful for him choosing her. Plus, she didn’t know how well he and Truesight got along - maybe he needed to see a friendly face from time to time?

There was a glimmer of mirth as he looked at her through the steam of his cup. “New and strange. It has been a long time since I have met someone who knows as much about the miraculous as I do - if not more.” He poured a cup and passed it to her. As she sipped, he stroked his beard. “You and Chat Noir seem to be in a particularly good mood. I will not pry, but I’m sure he is a lucky fellow. My well wishes to you.”

She nearly choked on her tea, and he simply chuckled. Managing a sputtered, “Thank you,” she shuffled to the secret ladder. As she climbed down one-handed, she felt a painful ache in her heart. _If both Chat and I were in a good mood, was it about similar things? Was Chat really… moving on from me?_

Probably for the best, but that didn’t lessen the sorrow she felt. With a small smile, she wished Chat the best of luck, and hoped he would be as happy as she would be with Adrien. 

A voice echoed up the tunnel. The odd accent left little doubt that the speaker was Truesight. “Of course, by the time we had opened the Pharaoh’s personal granary, there was not a trace of honeyed bread nor mushrooms.” 

Another voice answered him - she readily recognized her long-time partner. “Plagg isn’t much for sweets. Why’d he take them?”

Her feet touched the floor and she turned around to see Chat and Truesight sitting across the table from one another. A grinning Chat was sipping at a cup of tea much like Marinette’s own, while Truesight had his ambrosia in front of him. She seemed to have arrived at the tail end of a story he was telling.

Truesight took a swig from his tankard before responding. “You think Plagg could pull off a heist like that on his own? No, he is often too much into short-term mischief. Tikki was the ringleader for that one, and the honey was her tithe for helping him.”

Chat’s ears twitched and his eyes shifted towards her. She watched them light up. _Well, at least I know he still feels something for me._ Truesight, whose back had been toward her, turned in his seat and gave a half-smile toward her. Lifting his tankard in greeting, he said, “Cheers, lass. Pull up a chair. I’ve been telling stories while waiting.”

A flash of Truesight dying in her lap killed the smile that had been forming on her face. “That reminds me. I’ve been having dreams…” 

He nodded. “Ah, I see. Those have started already, then.”

Chat’s eyes widened. “You too? I thought I was the only one. So, uh…” Color seemed to drain from his face, “what did you see?”

_Well, I was hoping I wouldn’t be going first, but…_ “I was a past Ladybug. Kanika. I watched Truesight… pass on.”

The man in question seemed unperturbed, nodding as he stroked his beard. “My first lifetime on this world. It was… an experience. So much established - not the least of which the ritual I wrote. I remember Kanika… the waif made me proud. I’ve often wondered what became of her…” He shook his head. “At least she had Tikki to watch out for her.” He stared deep into his drink as he took a sip. “And you, lad?”

His response was unusually somber for the normally excitable feline hero. He clenched his teeth before saying, “I… killed you. Shot you in the back.”

Hurt flashed over Truesight’s face, but it was quickly replaced by concern. He put a comforting hand on Chat’s arm. “ _You_ didn’t. That was all Heracles.”

“He said it was for love. What did he mean?”

Truesight let out a long sigh. “It is a long story, lad. Full of division, fear, bad decisions on my part, and Amazons.”

“I can’t believe someone so evil wielded my miraculous…”

They were surprised when Truesight cut in firmly. “No. Heracles was a good lad. It didn’t end well, but he was true hero, once.” Another sip. “I’ll not have ill words spoken of him.”

Marinette felt pain and sorrow underneath those words, but decided it was best not to dig any deeper. Before the silence could stretch on, a voice echoed down from the entrance.

“Is it story time?”

Rena Rouge made her way down the ladder, holding a brown paper bag in one hand. Truesight turned to face her, a smiling tugging at his lips. “Aye, I guess you could say-” 

He was interrupted by Rena reaching into the bag and pulling out its contents, which she then sat on the table. It was an unopened, fresh bottle of wine. A pretty strong one, from what Marinette could tell. His smile became hollow and cold as he inspected it.

“You really want to hear that tale, don’t you?” There was an edge to his voice that Rena seemed to ignore as she nodded. Truesight turned his eyes to Chat. “Lad, go get Fu. I do not wish to tell this story more than once and he might find it… illuminating.”

“Why me?”

“‘Cause I asked you.” He took a calming breath. “Please, lad?”

Chat chose not to argue with him further. As he disappeared up the ladder, Truesight pulled the cork off with his hands and downed a third of the bottle, some of it running down the side of his face. 

The two superheroines exchanged a look. Rena said, “Um, Truesight, wine like that is meant to-”

He waved her off. “Yes, yes, pleasantries and tradition, which I will be ignoring for the sake of getting drunk enough to dull my emotions.” He pulled out the cloth holding his ponytail, letting his hair fall loose around his shoulders. Pushing it back, he set the bottle on the table and pulled out his own bottle, which Marinette had seen last during their previous all-team meeting. Offering it to them he asked, “This is much less potent. If you wish to drink along, then feel free.”

Closing his eyes, he didn’t speak up again until the echoes of feet going down the ladder could be heard. “Now, this is not a pleasant story. It is death, and pain. Your powers used for wicked ends. If that would be unbearable for you to hear, then I would not judge you harshly for heading home right now. Gods know we won’t be getting anything else done tonight.” He tapped the side of the wine bottle.

He waited for them to either get settled or leave. Master Fu shuffled into a seat, Wayzz floating by his shoulder. As he slowly opened his eyes, staring off into the distance, he said, “Old friend, my memory is… muddled. If I tell the story wrong, be sure to correct me. Both of us were there, after all.” He took a sip from the bottle. “Even if your role ended the quickest.”

Wayzz nodded and sat upon the table crosslegged. Master Fu stroked his beard as he asked, “Grandmaster, is this a story I would be familiar with?”

“Doubtful.” He shifted to lock eyes with Master Fu. “Did the Guardians ever tell you about how they let all seven miraculous fall into evil hands at the same time?”

Master Fu paled, horrified shock painted all over his face, a sentiment shared by everyone at the table. Truesight nodded. “I thought so. The Guardians did not like to remember their failings.”

Marinette’s thoughts turned to Nooroo, and how he was surely used and abused by Hawkmoth. The faint beginnings of tears came to the corners of her eyes when she thought of Tikki suffering that same fate. Before she could wallow in the idea for too long, Truesight began speaking again. 

“You are familiar with the ritual that summoned me. It requires at least one of the seven miraculous to be present to function, but they managed to circumnavigate this restriction by having several artifacts of mine present. Their substitution was shoddy, but they managed to make it work. Normally, when I am summoned, the basic information about the chosen I am to guide appears in my mind. When I did not have this knowledge, I was… confused, and feared the worst.”

Chat’s tail was gently flicking back and forth, engrossed in the story. “How bad could it have been?”

Truesight looked into her partner’s eyes as he continued, “It was not freshed faced youth that surrounded me, but scared old men. The former rulers of a fractured kingdom.” His eyes turned to Master Fu. “The Guardians had become complacent. When a ruler asked for miraculous to give to their heir, they bowed and scraped and handed another to them.” He took a large swig of wine before continuing. “All seven had been handed over in this way. Seven warring factions. Seven miraculous bearers leading ambitious provinces against one another.”

Marinette looked at Rena Rouge and Chat Noir, her gaze lingering on the latter. It was difficult to fight just Hawkmoth. But _all_ the miraculous? And she felt more… complete when fighting alongside Chat. How could the Ladybug and the Cat be on opposing sides?

“It didn’t take long for the children to oust their parents, drive them out of the kingdoms into the sanctuary of the Guardians. There, they drove the Guardians to action, and in their desperation summoned me.” He set the bottle on the table with extreme deliberation. “My anger was apocalyptic. I am meant to be a mentor to young heroes, not some… some _assassin _or _butcher_.”__

__Truesight looked away, fighting down his emotions. He continued only after taking another swig of wine and even then his lips were tightly pursed and he was glaring into the middle distance._ _

__“I won’t recount everything I did in the immediate few days after, but suffice it to say those old men never went back to the country of their birth, and the Guardian leadership was shaken up. By hand.” Truesight’s voice was quiet, barely above a whisper._ _

__Master Fu shook his head, clutching his chest in heartbreak. “I understood that the Guardians were not perfect, but… just handing the miraculous over goes against everything I was taught - and everything I have learned through the long years of my stewardship. How could they have fallen so far?"_ _

__While Truesight laid a comforting hand on the old man’s back, Wayzz did likewise and responded. “Wisdom must be earned, Master. And this was a painful lesson for them indeed. Never before and never since had they suffered so.”_ _

__“Aye. But I knew they needed to survive the lesson for it to sink in, so I got to work hunting down the miraculous. I aided rebels - even bandits. I cut off supply lines. I kept them awake at night, sneaked into their camps. My intention was to either steal or scare their miraculous off them. It… did not work.”_ _

__Rena Rouge crossed her arms defensively. “Yeah, actually, it did work. She felt terrified of you. But why wouldn’t they just give up then?”_ _

__“Only with hindsight do I realize it wasn’t that simple. These children were raised from birth to believe they had the gods given right to rule the entire damned kingdom. They were the entire antithesis of what a good miraculous bearer is. Instead of accepting the consequences of their actions-”_ _

__Chat held up his hands. “Woah woah woah. ‘Children’?” He air quoted with his claws. “Do you mean like how you call everyone a kid, or-”_ _

__“The oldest was 17. He was the bearer of the Cat. The youngest was twelve.” His voice cracked and he had to take a moment before continuing. “She was the bearer of the Fox.” Sneering, he added, “The old men had long since gotten their oldest heirs killed in battle, leaving the youngest and most spoiled the task of conquest.”_ _

__Marinette looked down into her now lukewarm tea. Most were around her age then, or a little older. No wonder Truesight hadn’t wanted to talk about this._ _

__“What the hell? They were just kids and you were tormenting them like that?!” Rena glared at Truesight, who responded with a tired look._ _

__“Have you ever considered how exactly you could be beaten if you decided to go rogue?” The silence stretched on. “Even against modern weapons, you are nigh invincible. Quick, strong, tough. No one could _really_ stop you but another miraculous user.” Another sip of wine. “They were cowards. They never fought each other on the open battlefield, and so they could kill with impunity. I saw their crimes. The only reason I have regrets about my role is because they shouldn’t have been put in that situation at all. I tried to avert what was to come, but…”_ _

__Marinette gently asked, “How did you get the miraculous away from them?”_ _

__“I didn’t. I hadn’t survived to that point.” He pinched the bridge of his nose as the rest of them gawked at him in stunned silence. “I’m getting ahead of myself. What I hadn’t counted on was them putting aside their differences to hunt me down - they would rather reign over their war torn homeland than willingly step down. So one day, I was ambushed, alone, by seven miraculous bearers.” His had rested his chin on his hands, elbows propped up on the table. A bitter smile tugged at his lips. “I figure they must have been pretty surprised when they didn’t immediately slaughter me.”_ _

__Chat shook his head. “No way. You’re pretty strong, I’ll admit, but there is no way you could fight all seven at once.”_ _

__“I had some advantages going in. First, they were a horrible team and even in the thick of battle I could tell they were just waiting for the fight to go their way so they could backstab each other and bolt. Second, they had never had a real challenge. It was always a one-sided fight in their favor, so they never improved. Third, I knew I wouldn’t leave that battle alive no matter what happened, so I used my own life force to power my spells.”_ _

__Marinette winced as she tried to grasp the last part of his advantages. “That… sounds bad. What do you mean?”_ _

__“A person is three parts - body, soul, and life force. The life force ties the soul and body together, but it is also a lake of energy. In desperate circumstances, one can draw on it for power, but doing so is literally burning away one’s future.”_ _

__There was a long silence as they all digested this concept._ _

__“So… what then?”_ _

__Truesight stood on wobbly legs and drew his sword, which he gingerly placed on the table before sitting back down. “I went after the miraculous holders in order of how difficult it would be for the Guardians to defeat them on their own. First was the Turtle bearer. His impenetrable shield was proof against damn near everything,” he patted the crystal blade, “ _damn near_ everything. The Fox tried to cloud my reality, but my name is well earned.” _ _

__Rena Rouge shifted uncomfortably as she looked at the sword. Marinette knew she’d be uncomfortable too if she was sitting next to a weapon that had killed a previous bearer of the Ladybug._ _

__“From there, it was dealing with the miraculous in order of power. So I went after the Ladybug...”_ _

___Frick._ _ _

__“...Which would have been harder if he wasn’t an idiot who couldn’t grasp how to use the lucky charm. I buried my sword to the hilt in his chest and as I was withdrawing it, I heard a word that sent panic down my spine…”_ _

__Marinette was still squirming over the dispassionate, almost offhanded description of how Truesight dispatched her past incarnation. Sure he had been evil but…_ _

__“...Cataclysm.” The word caused everyone’s eyes to widen, and it broke her heart to see the dread behind Chat’s eyes, and the drooping of his ears._ _

__“I don’t know if you have seen what happens to the living when subjected to the power of destruction.” He finished the bottle and shivered. “I was… lucky. The miraculous don’t have as great an effect on me as they do everyone else. So instead of any number of horrific things killing me, I was instead wracked with terrible pain as what felt all the world like flaming glass coursed through my muscles and veins.”_ _

__Marinette took Chat by the hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. She wasn’t prepared for the strength that he squeezed back with, but was unwilling to pull back and deny him succor._ _

__“I swung wildly and felt the blade connect with flesh. The death of the Cat was my last action of the battle.”_ _

__He held out his hands, palms out. “That is the tale. The darkest hour of the miraculous, when our only enemy was ourselves.”_ _

__Rena spoke first. “That was only four. What about the other three?”_ _

__“The other three escaped, bleeding and bloodied. The Guardians had chosen that moment to arrive with the lesser miraculous on new bearers, and hunted down the Bee, Butterfly, and Peacock. Leaving me to die in the mud.”_ _

__“And after that…?”_ _

__Truesight was hunched over, head in his hands, elbows on the table. Haggard, he replied, “I don’t know. Nor do I care. I am all the happier to leave the mess behind me.”_ _

__Rena was about to ask something else when Marinette elbowed her in the side. When Rena turned to her, she shook her head._ _

__“If you all don’t mind… I’m too drunk and depressed to do much teaching today. I hope you at least learned something.” He looked up at them. “On the bright side, you won’t have to worry about this happening to you.”_ _

__Master Fu smiled warmly at his pupils who were now getting up and making their way out. “Yes. They were well chosen. I continue to be impressed by their exploits.”_ _

__Truesight stared at the bottom of the empty wine bottle he was clutching. “...Aye. They’re good kids. Damn good…” He set the bottle down and stood ponderously._ _

__Perhaps in hindsight it wasn’t the best idea for all of them to be standing next to each other. But, then, maybe she was simply placing too much faith in her miraculous reflexes. In any case, she found herself pressed up against her teammates as Truesight did his best to scoop them all up in a bear hug._ _

__His eyes were watery, but the smile was genuine. It didn’t take much to pry him off, but the doofy, glazed smile remained. He stumbled to his chair and waved at them as they left. “Hopefully the next time we meet will be merrier. For now, rest well and know that I love each of you.”_ _

__\-------------------------------------------------------------_ _

__Alya returned to her room without her family being any wiser about her disappearance. Which was all the better, since she really needed some time alone to process what she was just told. Trixx took one look at her and nodded, diving into a bag of popcorn. A flicker of a smile played on her face before she settled down on her bed._ _

__This… wasn’t what she had expected to learn. She narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw. _Okay, so it came out of nowhere. I was right about everything but the motive. Maybe Truesight is alright after all. But…__ _

__“Trixx?”_ _

__The kwami in question burrowed to the top of the popcorn bowl, cheeks puffed out with his prize. He tilted his head in curiosity._ _

__“What was that he said about his ties to the miraculous? And not being as hurt by their powers?”_ _

__Trixx swallowed and shook his head. “Sorry, kit. That’s for him to tell, not me.”_ _

__“Yeah, I thought you’d say that.” She pulled out her laptop. “I am so done with mysteries for now. Want to watch some magic trick videos?”_ _

__She felt him burrow excitedly through her hair, poking his head out near her shoulder. “Ooo my favorites. I like to see how the _amateurs_ do illusions.”_ _

__Giggling, she pressed play on the first compilation._ _

__\-------------------------------------------------------------_ _

__The transformation wore off just as he slipped into his bedroom. Too tired to do his homework, he left it for Saturday Adrien to deal with as he let himself fall face first onto his bed._ _

__The gross wet munching sound appeared near his head, alerting him to his kwami’s presence. He remembered his dreams, and Truesight’s description of Cataclysm. Shuddering, he asked, “Plagg… do the cat bearers often… go bad?”_ _

__The munching stopped. Wearily, Plagg replied, “Its the power of destruction, kid. We walk a fine line between good and evil.” Adrien flipped over to look at Plagg. “But hey! Destruction can be good, so it’s not like our powers are intrinsically bad.”_ _

__“I mean, yeah, we can break things to help out, but…” Adrien suddenly had a wedge of camembert waving in front of his face. “Ew, gross! Get that away from me!”_ _

__Plagg ate it in one gulp. “Cheese is milk destroyed by bacteria. Cheese is good. Destruction can be good.” The kwami laughed at Adrien’s groan._ _

___Great_ , Adrien thought, _now I’m going to be up all night trying to figure out if that was wise or stupid._ _ _

__\-------------------------------------------------------------_ _

__Marinette’s thoughts were clouded as she sailed over Paris and landed on her balcony. In this fight against Hawkmoth, she had always assumed that he was an outlier - an anomaly. The miraculous were meant to be used for noble purposes. So long as good people wielded them, everything would be fine._ _

__But the stories she heard today…_ _

__Love was about as noble a purpose as one gets, but even so it turned Heracles against the man who raised him. The road she walked suddenly became much narrower. She remembered Truesight’s words from weeks ago - the bearers of the Ladybug were leaders. With bowed shoulders, she felt the weight of this new duty that she must bear - Paris must be kept safe, yes, but so do the other miraculous users. She must be an example to them all._ _

__Tikki floated beside her, offering comfort with her very presence - before reminding her of the tale she had just finished listening to._ _

__Her eyes began tearing up at what the kind and gently kwami must have suffered through. Marinette asked, “Tikki! Are you alright? I can’t imagine what it must have been like for you…”_ _

__She half-smiled and wiped away Marinette’s tears. “It’s all in the past now, Marinette. I’m just happy I’m with _you_ now.” She zoomed around Marinette before continuing, “But what about you? I can feel the burden that is weighing on your mind. Do you want to talk about it?”_ _

__Collapsing onto a seat at her desk, they did just that. Although nothing was truly resolved, Marinette felt the burden was easier to bear with another to help her. Eventually the conversation drifted to her upcoming date with Adrien, and they left behind the darkness of the past to dwell in the brightness of the future._ _


	18. Valentines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien go on their first date together.

There was no groaning, no pleas for the sun to go away, no begging with Tikki to let her have some extra time asleep. She was up before her alarm, smiling. This was the day she had been preparing for, looking forward to, for the last two weeks. The anxiety had melted away and she simply let herself be excited. 

Today, she had a date with Adrien.

...Well, a double date, since Alya and Nino were there. So not much different from the last few times she and Adrien had spent together - Christmas excluded. But the crucial difference this time was that they would be on a _date_ , and that was the most important thing of all. 

She wouldn’t need to meet with her friends until the afternoon, so she turned her attention to the outfit that she had been laboring over. The pink mittens were finished, and messing with them now would just be asking for disaster. The fluffy earmuffs could use some loving touches, and her bootcuffs were finally finished. Her remaining outfit constituted skinny jeans and a soft turtleneck sweater under a pale pink coat.

The cold had never been her favorite, but ever since getting the Ladybug miraculous she had even less resistance to chilly weather. Hopefully, with all this and a boy to keep her warm, she should be fine.

With more pragmatic concerns out of the way, her mind was free to envision what her day with Adrien would be like. There was no predictions of doom or messing up - only her and the boy of her dreams sharing Valentine’s together. 

\---------------------------------------------------------

The first rays of morning filtered in through the, what Adrien had often considered, ungodly large number of windows in his room. Maybe that was an intentional design choice by his father - to help ensure that Adrien would find it as difficult as possible to sleep in. Regardless of possible conspiracy, it worked and he rose from his bed to get ready for the day. 

Shrugging off the exhaustion he felt became easier as excitement for the day started taking over. The past two weeks had been a pleasant blur - school was less onerous when he kept stealing glances of Marinette, and sharing small touches that nonetheless sent electricity down his spine. But for all that time, they hadn’t _talked_ much. Maybe it was nervousness - both of them were looking forward to this and for the first time Adrien was on a similar level of awkwardness as Marinette.

_Maybe it was because of something else…_

He pushed that doubt aside as he tried to get out of bed, only to meet the eyes of Ladybug and him in his framed picture on the wall. Staring at it for a few minutes, he reached a decision and gingerly picked it up from its spot and moved it to the upper level, outside of his normal line of sight. 

That done, he read fanfics - trying to keep to _platonic_ Ladynoir - on the Ladyblog until he decided it was time to get ready for his double date with Marinette in the park. Jeans and a sweater were the obvious choices, but it was his choice of hand-made jacket and scarf that made Adrien happy. 

He couldn’t wait to see her smile when she saw him wearing her handiwork.

\---------------------------------------------------------

An hour before noon and Alya had arrived - both for some last minute touch ups for the two of them and as the traditional pre-date moral support. 

“I’m surprised, girl. You seem pretty chill for going on a _date with Adrien_.” Alya said the last few words very deliberately, as if testing for a reaction.

Marinette playfully rolled her eyes. Alya had been at this ever since she got here to find Marinette not freaking out and more or less ready to go. “I told you, all the hard parts are over. All I have to do now is actually date the love of my life.”

Alya made a face as if biting into a lemon. She pinched the bridge of her nose and seemed to come to a decision. “Okay, I can’t believe I have to do this, but I actually have to tell _you_ , of all people, that things might go wrong.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Usually, you don’t need any help to imagine the worst-case scenario.” Before Marinette could protest, Alya put an arm around her neck and got close. “Listen close lover girl. First dates are awkward - but don’t let that discourage you! It will be fun, but you two have to put some work into it. Okay?”

Marinette extracted herself from Alya’s grip, despite the latter’s best efforts. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. I just have a good feeling about this date, you know? And I think Adrien really feels the same way.”

A knock at the door. The two girls exchanged glances. With a smirk, Alya asked, “Should we go and meet the boys?”

She looped her arm in Alya’s, nodding. “Let’s.”

Both of them made it to the bottom, where Adrien and Nino were talking with her parents. They gave her knowing glances as Marinette and Alya split to met their dates. She smiled proudly when she took in Adrien, bundled up in his Chat Noir jacket and blue scarf. 

She watched Alya rush up to Nino, wrapping him in a hug and planting a kiss on his cheek. While they were giggling, Marinette looked over to Adrien, who was watching them and blushing. He caught her staring and cleared his throat, hand rubbing the back of his neck. 

“So, uh… h-hey, Marinette.” He gave a weak wave of his hand, but seemed to think better of it midway through the action. Instead, he opted to fiddle awkwardly with his hands.

For her part, Marinette shuffled on the spot as she got close to him and struggled to say much of anything. She felt something bump into her from behind, with an insincere “Oops,” from Alya to accompany it. This sent her tumbling into Adrien, who, as he always did, caught her easily. 

_Well… while I’m here…_

She wrapped her arms around Adrien’s waist and spoke into his chest. “Hey, Adrien.”

After a slight pause, she felt his grip around her shoulders. “Hey.”

Moments passed and Alya cleared her throat. “Come on, let’s go. They have a lot of new attractions this year and I want to see them _all_.”

With a nervous chuckle, they split apart, with the lingering touch of Adrien holding her hand as they left the bakery. 

\---------------------------------------------------------

Adrien was amazed. He didn’t usually get to see all the sights that Paris had to offer because of his father keeping him inside, so everything was so… _new_ and exciting to him.

 _And it’s even better experiencing it all with people I care about._ He discretely followed their joined hands up to Marinette's face, who was looking with wonder at all the events lined up. All sorts of performers had joined up - mimes, magicians, artists, and plenty of others besides. Not to mention the vendors selling fresh food, hot beverages, and tons of random merchandise. 

But, a couple of hours into their exploration, it was the performances of a certain magician named Al that drew them. The name was underwhelming, to be sure, but he was drawing a pretty big crowd. Marinette and Nino weren’t too certain.

Nino looked towards the sandwich vendor and hot chocolate stand. “But… food…”

“Babe, we can get some afterwards, but this is the last performance of the day. You know I love magicians.”

Nino gave her a flat look. “Nah babe. You love _dissecting_ magicians.” Marinette nodded along vigorously.

She shrugged. “Same difference. They get my money anyway.”

Marinette shook her head. “Yeah, but we’ll be hearing about you theorizing for the rest of the day. And that just takes all the magic right out of it.”

Hands planted on her hips, she turned to him. “C’mon, blondie, don’t you want to see the magic man?”

With an apologetic look to Marinette, he said, “...Yes. I’ve never seen performance magic before.” He was well acquainted with real magic, but usually didn’t get the opportunity to admire it much - most of the grander displays were usually being used to hurt or kill him, after all. Seeing ‘magic’ designed to impress was sure to be a treat. Right?

A long sigh escaped Marinette’s lips and she shook her head at Nino. “Sorry. He’s pulling on my heartstrings.” She placed her hands over her heart to drive her point home.

Alya and Adrien led the way, dragging their rather more reluctant partners behind them.

As they got settled on the benches, the magician made his appearance. He was wearing flowing grey robes embroidered with golden symbols. Adrien nodded appreciatively - it seemed to be exquisite craftsmanship. The subdued robes just made his long red hair held back in a ponytail pop all the more. His pale blue eyes scanning the crowd and- Oh my God this is Truesight.

He was stunned as the magician - TRUESIGHT - began to speak. His voice was… different than what Adrien was used to and it almost made him question if this really was Truesight. His normal inflection was gone, instead replaced by a Marseillais accent. His words boomed, mirth bubbling from each word, and hands gesticulating wildly to further underline each point - a real crowd pleaser.

“Greetings, lovely citizens of Paris!” He paused to let the crowd quiet down. “When I returned from my world journey, I had not expected the warmth that this city would show this humble practitioner. But I stand before you now, ready to demonstrate my command of the Way.” More whoops and applause greeted him. “I see many familiar faces in the audience today.” 

He turned in a circle to get a view of the whole crowd, and when his eyes passed over the spot where Adrien sat, his eyes widened before a gigantic grin split his face. More quietly, he added, “Some very familiar faces indeed.” He surged back to his previous volume. “But you are here the be mystified, so let us abandon the mere banality of words, and speak the universal language of _wonder_.” 

Orbs of gently glowing light in all reds, blues, and greens appeared over Truesight’s skyward turned palms. Sending them away with a brushing motion, these orbs flew through the crowd, zooming in a spiral around the audience, while other orbs nimbly ducked away from attempts to grab them.

He picked up seven small balls from a table at the edge of his performance area and began juggling them. A kinda impressive party trick, but nothing compared to the build up he’d established. The audience grew listless as this mundane act wore on. A few minutes in, even he seemed to grow tired of it. He yawned and stepped back to stretch… while the balls continued floating in the same pattern he had been throwing them in.

Returning to the balls, he poked at each as they passed by him, turning them different colors as they whirled faster and faster. By the end, he had a ball for each color of the rainbow swirling through the air so swiftly he had created a perfect circle of a rainbow. 

Ten minutes of slowly ramping up illusions passed until he pushed downward with both hands, starting at chest height. From the slowness and shaky progress, Adrien could almost _feel_ the pressure that Truesight was miming. When he reached his gut, the lights winked out and objects fell to the ground, returned to their normal coloring. The sound of gently falling rain (an audience choice) stopped, but the scent of pine trees and the faint sound of an eerie wind lingered in the air as the crowd stood and applauded. 

Grinning, he looked over to the others. Marinette and Alya were dumbfounded, and “Al” had seemed to earn the respect of Nino. Or, at least, so Adrien could surmise from the enthusiastic clapping. 

“Dudes, we _gotta_ leave a tip. That performance was definitely worth it.” Before they could respond, Nino was already walking down the benches, where the crowd funneled past a small wooden chest partially filled with euros. 

While Adrien agreed, in principle, he didn’t want to accidentally blow his cover either. Still, he didn’t want to leave Nino hanging and followed after him. This snapped the girls out of it and they hustled along as well. By chance, the four of them were the last in the line, making them the last ones in the area with “Al.”

His grin became wider and - Adrien felt - more _knowing_ when they reached him. “Good afternoon, kids. Enjoy the show?”

“Totally, dude! How’d you do all that?” Nino nudged Truesight while surreptitiously pointing out Alya, adding in stage whisper, “My girlfriend is going to be trying to figure out your tricks all day, so better fess up now and save me some trouble.” They shared a laugh.

Looking at Alya, Truesight said, “Well it really is rather simple,” he leaned in close, “ _magic_.” He chuckled at Nino’s groan. “That’s all there is to it, kids.”

She muttered, “Of course it is.”

Adrien placed a ten euro note in the chest, remarking, “Seems like a pretty good haul there, Al.”

“It is a decent wage, for those without great needs.” After his friends placed a few coins in the chest, Truesight closed it, leaning forward. “Stop by later, if you wish. I’ll be dying hair and painting skin with magic.”

As they exited his area, Nino said, “What a crazy dude. Seems cool, though.”

“I’ll say.” Marinette bumped shoulders with Adrien as she wrapped her hand around his. “I think I’m ready for that lunch break now.”

A few stops later and they were sitting at a table in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, chatting while eating. 

“Something the matter, Mari?” Adrien looked at a pouting Marinette over the steam from his peppermint hot chocolate.

She smacked his arm. “I told you I wanted to pay for myself!” Adrien grinned smugly.

“And _I_ wanted to pay for you.” She huffed and looked away. “Besides, I felt like I needed to bring something to this date.” While she hadn’t moved much, Adrien could tell she was listening carefully to him. He took another sip of chocolate. “You already brought the talent and beauty, which is normally _my_ thing, so I had to fulfill the ‘paying for things’ role.”

She turned back around, blushing, but still trying to stay upset with him. Begrudgingly, she began drinking her spicy hot chocolate. He scooted closer, and although she shuffled away, it was more for show and she didn’t actually move very far. Instead, she leaned against him, refusing to meet his eyes. 

The clinking of plastic drew his attention to Nino and Alya, who were tapping their hands against the disposable cups. Alya raised her caramel hot chocolate in salute to him. “Very smooth, Agreste. If she hadn’t already fallen for you, that might’ve done it.” 

Marinette glared, but didn’t contradict her. Nino finished his marshmallow-laden hot chocolate, turning to Alya. “Yeah, but you didn’t see him prepping these lines ahead of time. How long did it take to come up with that one, bro?”

Adrien tried to sputter out a protest, but he was interrupted by his friends laughter, including Marinette’s giggling. With an overly dramatic roll of his eyes, he let it slide. “Okay, you caught me. I, Adrien Agreste, am a _sham_. I will be issuing a formal apology, and returning my ‘smoothest guy in Paris’ award immediately.” Another round of laughter as he put his hand against his forehead and leaned back against Marinette, who squeaked as she suddenly had him barging into her space. “Oh, WOE, is me.”

As Nino and Alya continued to laugh, Marinette seemed to accept her fate and asked, “Are you guys just about done?”

“Yeah, girl. Let’s go.” Alya started to stand. “Come on, Agreste, get off your girlfriend. There’s lots left to do here.”

\---------------------------------------------------------

Alya had been on Ferris wheels plenty of times in the past - both by herself and with Nino. This meant the most interesting sight to her was the couple at the other end of the compartment. Nino seemed to have the same idea as he watched them with a warm smile on his face. 

Adrien’s eyes were wide as he looked at the city spread out before him, and Marinette was snuggled up against the arm he had wrapped around her. She was split between looking out at the city and stealing glances at Adrien enjoying the view. Alya leaned back with her arms crossed, watching her plotting and planning of the last year or so finally come to fruition with these two soulmates.

She bumped into Nino’s arm, which he had laid against the back of the seat. He shifted to put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. In a whisper, he said, “Look at our little dudes. All grown up.”

This at least caught Adrien’s attention - _Damn that boy had good hearing_ \- who blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “So… while we’re up here… where to next?”

Alya glanced out the window to look for their next destination. “Well, there are a collection of booths over there,” she gestured to a set of blue tents, far below, “that have a bunch of carnival games in them. I gotta warn you though, blondie, this one,” a finger pointed at Marinette, “is a competitive hellcat.”

Marinette stuck out her tongue at Alya, but didn’t argue with her - which was wise, since Alya could name at least four times off the top of her head to back her up. 

“Good, we’ll need that spirit to get the best prizes.” Adrien shot a wild grin at Marinette who, while stunned at first, gave him an equally manic one in return.

Alya exchanged a look with her mellow boyfriend that said, _No, I don’t expect you to waste fifty euros to win me a ten euro prize_ and _These kid are going to do exactly that and it will be hilarious_. Silent plans arranged, Alya nodded.

\---------------------------------------------------------

They reached the games, a bustling area filled with possible winners and definite losers. As they entered the area, Marinette heard Alya whisper to her, “Best of luck, girl.” When Marinette turned to her, she only saw a brief flash of Alya’s hair as they got separated in the crowd. Before she could freak out over being left alone with Adrien, he had taken her by the hand and was dragging her toward one game in particular

“Look, Mari! I bet we can beat this one!”

\---------------------------------------------------------

After an hour passed, Alya was searching through the crowd, Nino in tow and cotton candy in hand. It was good to have some alone time with her boyfriend, but she really should get back to her best friend duties for Marinette. 

She felt movement in her purse and adjusted her previous sentiment. It was good to have some _mostly_ alone time with her boyfriend. She had to leave him alone for a few minutes when her kwami had sneaked off, trying to snag some food on his own. Sighing, she reflected that at least she could add cotton candy to the small list of prefered foods for Trixx. 

Eventually she saw a flash of a hot pink jacket and headed towards it. Surely by now they’d had enough time to waste a lot of money for a meagre prize.

“Hey, girl! Wait up!” 

The couple in question turned around and Alya had to resist the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. She didn’t like being proven wrong so much in so short a time frame.

Slung under Adrien’s arm was a fat black cat plushie. Big, but not unbearably big.

Nino finger gunned at Adrien, an action obscured by the cotton candy in his hands. “Sup, dude! You win that for Marinette?” 

Adrien held it close to his chest. “No, she won it for me. I… turned out to be garbage at the games.” Alya figured he would have tried to rub the back of his neck if both hands weren’t already occupied.

Which brought her to the girl he was connected with at the hand. She gave a nervous smile and said, “He really wanted it.” 

_I never should have even worried._

\---------------------------------------------------------

“Hey, look! I smell a photo opportunity!”

Adrien looked in the direction that Alya was pointing in and grinned. There, he saw the stone steps leading up to an old fountain surrounded by flowers. _Perfect._ He didn’t leave her an opportunity to argue as he marched to what his model senses decided was the best spot. 

“Who is taking the photo?” Alya raised an eyebrow and stared blankly at him. “Dumb question, right. Okay, can you just take a ton of photos until I say stop, please?” 

“Whatever you say, centerfold.” 

The nickname caused a rush of heat to his face, but he ignored it in favor of the plan that he had concocted. Marinette was smiling as she stood hand in hand with him. He let go of her hand to pull her closer by the waist, the sound of snapping photos providing a backdrop against his motions. Her smile widened at their proximity, giving him courage for the next phase. Listening carefully to the cadence of the camera snaps, he quickly leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, making sure to time it right for maximum amount of pictures. 

Her face turned beet red and she covered her mouth to muffle another squeak - he had made a game today of drawing as many out of her as possible. He motioned for them to stop taking pictures.

Nino whistled as Alya said, “Smooth, lover boy. We might have to give you back your award after that.” She turned to Nino. “Unless he practiced that too?”

He shook his head, “No way, dude. Just a ton of dorky lines.”

“My lines aren’t _dorky_ they are _romantic_.” 

“Yeah, yeah, Agreste. Now it’s your turn to take our photos.” 

Pulling out his phone, Adrien was more than happy to. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Marinette follow behind him in a daze, touching her cheek and gently smiling. 

\---------------------------------------------------------

They moved on, and it was once again Alya who stopped them. This time, she wanted to buy some things from a little shop set up for the occasion. While she ran wild through the temporary store, Adrien walked around it in a daze. 

Ladybug. Everywhere. Usually, it was just her colors and spots slapped on some unsuspecting pottery or shirt. Other times, her piercing blue eyes, so familiar to him, were staring at him. 

He felt some of his excitement for the evening fade away. It was hard enough making a decision between his two loves - he hadn’t wanted to be reminded of her while on his date. It felt… wrong. Like she had caught him cheating, even if it didn’t make any sense at all. 

Now it was Marinette who was pulling him along, up to the vendor, a lady in her early twenties talking with Alya. It wasn’t until they got closer that they could hear what they were talking about.

“...totally meant for each other!”

Alya nodded enthusiastically. “I know! Ladybug and Chat Noir should just admit their feelings to each other already. All of Paris knows they are going to get together at some point! They might as well save us some time.”

“Really, Alya? They’re just good friends! Why does everyone need to pair them up?” Marinette had a hint of weariness in her voice. 

“Girl, I’ve _talked_ with both of them, and I’m usually at ground zero on an akuma attack. If you ever saw them in the flesh, working side by side, there is no way you couldn’t say there is something there.”

“I don’t know, Alya. Ladybug doesn’t seem interested in Chat at all…” Alya narrowed her eyes at him, making him rapidly add, “That I’ve seen!”

“And you, centerfold, are unwise in the ways of _love_ , so be grateful I’m here for the both of you. Ladybug has feelings for Chat - end of story.”

He purchased a shirt from the vendor - one of Ladybug and Chat Noir together - and put it in a bag with the stuffed animal Marinette won for him. 

All the emotions he had shoved down came back up, and suddenly he wasn’t sure of anything anymore. He trudged along behind the others, hands in the pockets of his coat. He knew he loved Ladybug - he didn’t know if he would be able to move past it as easy as Plagg and Truesight seemed to think he could. He knew he had feelings for Marinette. But was that because she had all the qualities that made him fall for Ladybug? Was she just a proxy for her? 

Nausea followed in the emotional turmoil that reigned in his heart. 

\---------------------------------------------------------

Something was wrong. She wasn’t sure what prompted the change, but the energy in the air was different. Adrien was keeping her at arm’s length, his hands were hidden in his pockets. Wherever his mind was, it wasn’t with them, and he gradually left all conversation. 

Marinette hadn’t let herself consider that Adrien might not end up liking the date. And it had seemed at first that she would have been silly to do so, but now? With Adrien getting more and more detached? Panic began seizing her. Did she read the signs wrong? Was he just humoring her? But what about everything that had happened today?

By the end of the day, everyone had caught onto the change. Alya seemed ready to say something about it, but Nino shook his head and lead her away, probably to take her home. That left Adrien and Marinette alone, again. 

“I’m sorry.”

She jolted at the sound of Adrien’s voice.

“I thought I’d be fine, but… I guess not.”

Marinette felt her heart quiver and fracture.

“I need to work through some things. I… I don’t think I’m ready for a relationship just yet.”

She sniffed, to help brace herself. He turned to her, startled. Plastering a big smile on her face, she tried to reassure him - even now, she couldn’t bear to see him sad or upset. And if that meant burying her own feelings…

So be it.

“No! No, that’s fine, Adrien. I understand.”

“Are… are we okay?”

“Yes! Of course… w-we’re fine.” She cursed herself for the stutter that made him examine her with pain in his eyes. 

They reached her doorstep. 

“Good night, Marinette.”

“G-good night, Adrien.”

Her parents were long asleep, leaving her clear of obstacles to her room. She flew up the stairs, Tikki barely able to keep up. Once there, she threw herself onto her bed and cried.

\---------------------------------------------------------

Adrien stood outside her house for a few minutes before making his way back home. He knew she was trying to hide the pain, and what made it hurt more was that there was nothing Adrien could do to help her…

...But then, he didn’t have to be Adrien all the time.

He ducked into an alley to transform, only to be face to face with Plagg. Remarkably unlike what his kwami was normally like, Plagg simply floated there and stared at Adrien in silence. Eventually, Adrien sighed.

“Okay, you can tear into me later, but first I need to see if Marinette is alright.”

“Listen, kid. I know this whole thing has been rough, but waffling like this isn’t going to solve anything.”

“Yes, I know, but-”

“And it was all going so well, too…”

“Plagg?”

“Yeah?”

“Claws out.”

\---------------------------------------------------------

He made a detour to his house (specifically a storage closet of his father’s) before running at full speed to Marinette’s balcony. He tapped gently at the trapdoor, hoping that she was still up. 

Relief turned to ashes in his mouth when she responded. Her eyes were bloodshot and rimmed with dark circles, and even now the tears were streaming down her face. In an attempt to pull herself together, she flashed a brief, apologetic smile and wiped her eyes with her wrists. When she spoke, her voice was rough.

“Hey, kitty. Now’s- Now’s not the best time, okay?”

Adrien’s eyes softened even as his gut twisted with guilt. _I did this to her_. Softly, he whispered to her, “Princess, now is the perfect time to have a friend over. See? I’ve even come bearing gifts.” He pulled a basket towards him. 

Emotions warred on her face. Eventually, she motioned him in. “...Yeah. Okay. You can come in, Chat.”

He landed on the bed, about to move down into the main part of the room, until he noticed Marinette had just curled up on her bed, facing away from him. Tailing swinging lazily behind him, he weighed his options before deciding to sit down next to her, basket settled in his lap. They sat in amicable silence as Adrien decided on how best to comfort her. _No. Being Adrien got us into this mess. What would Chat do…?_

“Do you know what kind of cats like to go bowling?” He let the quiet question hang in the air, not expecting an answer, but hoping for one. When she didn’t respond, he finished, “ _Alley cats_.”

She shuffled slightly and he thought he almost heard a sigh. 

“I use to think whiteboards weren’t anything special.” Pause. “Now? I think they’re pretty _re-markable_.”

A snort came from the curled up girl in front of him. He smirked - at least she wasn’t sobbing anymore.

“Napoleon may not have designed the coat he wore, but at least he _had a hand in it_.”

She craned her head back to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “Really, Chat?”

He stretched out to lie beside her, hands crossed over his chest as he looked up at the ceiling. “You want to hear a bad joke?”

“Please no.”

“Paper.” She looked at him in confusion. He shrugged. “Pretty _tear-able_ , huh?”

Taking his lead, she uncurled and stretched out on her back, arm thrown over her forehead. She was fighting a smile. “Yup. Just awful.”

With great seriousness, he said, “I was at a job interview today.” 

“Oh? Tell me more.” She was watching him with a half-smirk, no doubt wondering where the joke was headed.

“Mhmm. They asked me if I was responsible. I said, sure. At my last job, whenever something went bad, they always said I was responsible.” That one got an honest, if small laugh out of her. After their giggling subsiding, he asked, “So… you wanna talk about it? Or do you want to sit here for a little while longer?”

She sniffled and grasped at the sheets with her hands. Without looking, he reached out and covered her hand with his - not holding, just touching. After a few minutes of staring at the dark ceiling, she said, “I went on a date with Adrien today.”

The boy in question nodded along, but realized _Chat_ would have something to say about this. “Oh? Shouldn’t you be happy, then? It’s further than I got with my lady.”

In the dim illumination, he saw her shake her head. “I was. It was good, but… something went wrong. I… I don’t know. He basically said he just wanted to be friends. I think-” She took a moment to gather herself. “I think maybe he was just doing this to humor me, and realized that it was just playing with my emotions.”

“Are you sure about that?” Now he was worried that he had caused irreparable damage with Marinette. 

“What else could it be? The boy is too sweet to be intentionally cruel.” Adrien was touched - even in her heartbreak, she wouldn’t lash out at him. “So there had to have been a mistake made somewhere. I just… I’m mad at me for letting myself think he’d be in love with me.”

She curled back upon herself and turned away from Adrien. His eyes widened as he tried to find the right words to say to fix this.

“Wuh- No! Why wouldn’t he be in love with you?” He sat up. “You’re amazing, Marinette! Any one would be lucky to have you.”

She groaned back at him, “Adrien doesn’t feel the same way.”

Sighing, he whispered, “I’m sure he does. Maybe he just doesn’t know what to do with those emotions. Being a sheltered kid taught to clamp down on your feelings doesn’t leave a lot of room for learning to handle them.”

“Maybe you’re right, Chat. _Maybe_. But… it still hurts. It’s going to hurt.”

“I’m sorry, princess.” _More than you will ever know…_

Smiling sadly, face still wet with tears, she said, “It’ll be okay, kitty.” She patted him between the ears, and seemed to notice the basket in his lap for the first time. He followed her stare.

“Oh! I almost forgot about this. I thought since neither of us had made progress in the love department, we could hang out.” He put a hand to his forehead to move his hair out of his face. “And look how _that_ turned out. Anyway, I brought you some sewing supplies that I thought you’d like.”

She sat up and he passed the basket to her, fidgeting with his hands as she opened it. Her face lit up as she ran her hands through the ribbons, fabrics, and accessories. “Wow! Chat, this is really thoughtful.” Her voice softened. “Thank you.”

He rubbed the back of his neck and looked to the side. “Ah, well, no prob-”

He was interrupted when she leaned forward to kiss his cheek. With her attention immediately turned back to the gift, she didn’t see the blush that broke out. Pulling out his baton, just for _something_ to do, he checked the time. Very late - especially with the early morning modelling session tomorrow.

“Ah, s-sorry. I need to head home. E-early morning, you know?”

She grabbed his tail as he emerged onto the balcony, causing him to look back questioningly.

“Thanks for talking with me, Chat.”

They smiled at each other. “No problem, princess.”

\---------------------------------------------------------

Adrien was well and truly doomed. 

As he lay on his large bed in his cold and empty room, he felt it in his bones - he had messed up tonight and it would be difficult to fix this.

With his actions tonight he had shot any relationship with Marinette in the foot. Now she’d be worried that he was insincere with any romantic gestures. And with that simple kiss on the cheek in the darkness, he was certain of his feelings for her. 

Glowing green eyes rose beside him. “Well, kid. This is a fine mess you’re in.”

“Yes. Clearly.”

“You’ll have to make it up to her somehow.”

“Yeah, I can see it now - ‘sorry, I was confused before because I am in love with two people, but hey, you’re the more accessible of the two so I’m going with you.’” He put his hands over his face. “What if we go through this whole thing again? Maybe I’d be better off just leaving her alone.”

Plagg poked the tip of Adrien’s nose. “ _That_ is quitter talk. You messed up. Boo-hoo. You have an obligation to you _and_ her to make this right.”

“But Plagg-”

“‘But Plagg,’” his kwami repeated in a mocking tone, “No. You are fixing this. Both of you deserve each other, and I’m not letting you give up at the first hurdle.” 

Adrien took a deep breath. Plagg was right. “Okay. I will do whatever I can to make it up to Marinette.”

\---------------------------------------------------------

The basket sat on her desk, to be sorted through properly in the morning. She didn’t know how Chat had gotten all those things, but they would be a big help to her projects.

As she sat, lying in the darkness, she thought about how Chat had stayed with her despite her obvious distress, how he had tried to reach out to her in his own silly way. It was much more than Adrien had given her. 

Maybe Chat was right to move on from Ladybug. Maybe she should do the same. Maybe… maybe they could move on together.


	19. Ties that Bind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette deal with the aftermath of their ill-fated Valentine's date, each trying to find their own way to move forward.

Groggily, he opened his eyes, the early morning light stirring him from his sleep. He didn’t know whose memories he had lived through during the night. Normally, he could place a name to the vision, having lived through the critical moments of dozens of past bearers. But it was a testament either to his meditations, the presence of Truesight, or simply a good night’s rest that the dream did not burden him upon waking. 

In any case, Master Fu was grateful and began his morning rituals - some more literal than others. The stretching and changing into new clothes, he figured, was likely a common routine for most people. The trance he had been taught as an initiate in a mountaintop monastery was probably much less common. As was always the case, memories - this time his own - were stirred from the recesses of his mind as he sought inner peace. The voices of long ago heroes that he had guided, echoing in his mind. Some he greeted as old friends. Others, he tried his best to skirt past, lest they become… accusatory. 

Once his mind was focused, he was ready to begin the morning brew. He placed a kettle of water on the stove, and picked some leaves off one of the many plants that he grew. While waiting for the water to boil, he began sorting through reagents on the shelves, piecing together a recipe that he had come to know well over the years before throwing them all into a head-sized cauldron. 

As the water came to a boil, he poured it into the teapot, making sure to take the leaves with him. The cauldron was left on a low-burning fire. 

Master Fu wandered into his living room, seeing his housemate was already fully awake. Truesight sat cross legged at the low table, the modernity of the newspaper he was reading and to-go cup of coffee in stark contrast to the bone dice cast across the table’s surface.

He joined the legendary founder of the Guardians at the table, something a year ago Master Fu would not have believed could happen. Thus far, it hadn’t met up with expectations. While pouring his and Wayzz’s tea, he offhandedly asked, “Is there anything I should be made aware of?”

With a brief peek above his newspaper, Truesight responded, “The runes report no danger. The heralds might yet have something, but my mind remains fixated on the relics Chat Noir had told me about.”

“Those of Roman origin?” Truesight nodded as he continued to read. “What secrets could be held within them, Grandmaster?”

“If the Guardians had followed my orders as I gave them, then there should be nothing. But we both know that they scavenged for whatever knowledge could further their ultimate goal.”

Master Fu sighed. This was an argument they had had many times. Admittedly, his old order was flawed, but… “Our ultimate goal was the protection of the Miraculous - everything else was a side project at best.”

Truesight folded the paper to more properly stare at him. “And certainly, that policy of noninterference must have been rigidly adhered to. It’s not like they were destroyed between two foreign armies.” His voice dripped with sarcasm. 

The bearer of the turtle took a deep breath. “The past is far behind us, Founder.”

Truesight stared at him for a moment longer before returning to his paper. “I suppose it is.”

“Is it my turn tonight, or yours?”

“I was technically out on the town yesterday, even if I was performing cantrips in the park. If you were asking about dinner, then yes it is my turn.” Fu saw the other man’s eyes soften as a brief smile tugged at his lips. “That reminds me, I saw the kids out and about as well.”

Master Fu smiled in return. They had their differences, but they both enjoyed hearing about the miraculous heroes. “Oh my. On Saint Valentine’s Day?”

It had taken some explaining to Truesight to help him understand why the city of love had been especially busy this last week, but he caught on quickly. He gave a knowing grin to Master Fu. “Indeed! And I saw Adrien and Marinette holding hands for most of the show. I suspect that something may be brewing there.”

Before he could respond, Wayzz cleared his throat. “Sorry to interrupt, Master, but our first customer should be arriving soon.”

When Master Fu looked back to Truesight, he was already cleaning up his bone dice and folding his newspaper. “I’ll be down below for most of the day.”

Master Fu nodded and began getting the living room ready for customers. 

\--------------------------------------------------------

The workday passed by uneventfully. Master Fu chuckled to himself, wondering what his tutors would think if they could see him now - using the ancient energy manipulation they had taught him to heal exhaustion and soothe emotional distress. Then again, judging by Truesight’s own uses for magic, perhaps Master Fu was doing something more in line with those powers’ original purpose.

He reached into his pocket. As he touched the two envelopes that visitors had given him, he thought again about the day being uneventful. Not long after Truesight had established himself here, the downtrodden would occasionally find their way here and deliver notes for him. Master Fu had decided not to pry, but his curiosity was mounting. He shrugged as he placed the letters on the kitchen table, where he knew Truesight would soon be making dinner. _Perhaps another day._

He settled down next to the table with his electronic pad in one hand and the morning newspaper on the table. There was still work to be done in translation, which hadn’t gotten any easier with Truesight’s presence. If what he said about the Guardians devising it specifically to be unfathomable to Truesight was accurate, then they did an unparalleled job with it. Even with his own knowledge, progress had only slowed. The only saving grace is that at least the secrets of the Guardians ought to be safe, even if the texts fell into evil hands. 

By the time he smelled the food Truesight was cooking, he had given up on the translation for today and was instead working at the crosswords and sudokus in the newspaper. He wandered into the kitchen to see Truesight hovering over a large pot of meat and various vegetables. 

Dejectedly, Master Fu asked him, “Do you know how to make anything _besides_ stew?” 

“I learned to cook on the road. If you want smoked meat or cooked fish, I can do that. I picked up some recipes in old Egypt, but what was common there is uncommon here. That leaves me with stew.” Master Fu groaned, prompting Truesight to look at him out of the corner of his eyes. “Stew is hearty. Damn near everyone in our little team needs more meat on their bones anyway, yourself included.” He ladled some of the mix into a bowl and held it out to him.

Master Fu sighed, but ate the offered bowl. While it was tasty for what it was, it was also just about the only thing Truesight could (or possibly ‘would’) cook. Still, he would need the energy for the patrol tonight. Walking around the city in the dark was sometimes a dangerous prospect, even if both he and Truesight could more than hold their own against the more mundane dangers.

Once the sun had set, Master Fu was out on the streets and vigilant of any not so mundane threats.

\--------------------------------------------------------

Hours later, he returned. Truesight was nowhere to be seen, presumably having returned to his hidden lair for training, or exercise, or whatever his nightly rituals were. 

Before heading to bed himself, he pulled the cauldron off the smoldering fire and poured the contents into fourteen vials. This done, he quaffed one and began to feel the weight of the years peel off of him. 

\--------------------------------------------------------

Monday morning, Adrien got out of bed reluctantly. Less because of the exhaustion he felt - he’d long since gotten used to that with the life he led - and more because he knew that today he would have to face Marinette. And this time, he wouldn’t have a mask to hide behind. 

After getting dressed, he picked up the important stuff he’d probably need for the day - textbooks, cheese, a sleeping Plagg - and stored them in his bag. He rushed out the door early, unsure of when Marinette would get to class and wanting to get as much extra alone time with her as possible. They needed to talk this out if he was going to set this right.

Once on the steps of the school, however, she was nowhere to be seen. At least Nino and Alya were there, chatting away. When he tried to approach them, Alya caught sight of him and scowled. She kissed Nino on the cheek and split off, getting lost in the crowd. A flicker of… something passed over Nino’s face as they did their secret handshake. 

Adrien gestured to Alya. “Bro, what was that about?”

“Well…” Nino pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay, dude, it’s about our trip on Saturday. Your date with Marinette?” 

Adrien felt a pit open up in his stomach as realization hit him. _Oh God. They’re ALL going to hate me. Marinette is friends with everyone - people just kind of **tolerate** me. If word gets around that I broke her heart, everyone will hate me. I’m going to be friendless all over again…_

“Woah, dude! Are you alright?” A reassuring hand was placed on his shoulder and Adrien broke out of the spiral of dread that he was getting caught in. “Anyway… We aren’t super sure about details - Marinette has been a bit tight lipped and you’ve been busy - but that just makes Alya suspicious. So… how _did_ it go?”

Slumping his shoulders, Adrien rested his hand on the back of his neck. “I… I messed up with Marinette, and it was only after I got home that I realized what an idiot I was.”

He looked up into Nino’s reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, dude! Marinette is totally into you. Knowing you, it can’t have been _that_ bad. I’m sure whatever you did can be fixed.”

Adrien remembered visiting her as Chat, and the sobbing that wracked her body - tears that _he_ had caused. “...I hope you’re right, Nino.”

The time for classes to start approached and Marinette still hadn’t shown up. Even once everyone else had funneled inside, Adrien hung around trying to catch her before class started. Eventually, he was forced to find his seat. Just after he did, Marinette came through the classroom door, mere moments before class began. She seemed slightly out of breath, but still avoided looking at Adrien.

Which started the trend for the day - she was always just outside his reach. Walking too quickly in the halls, going off alone with Alya for lunch - with her and Nino texting throughout lunch, making it hard to hold a conversation with his best bud. Marinette seemed to be doing everything in her power to avoid him. It became… discouraging. In his mind, he felt like he deserved it for his uncertainty, but his aching heart didn’t feel the same way about it. 

Class ended and Adrien was no closer to getting a word in with Marinette than when the day had started. But he sensed opportunity when he overheard Alya and her planning on walking through the park. 

He dragged Nino by the arm and almost literally leapt into the conversation, “Hey, do you mind if we join you?” Maybe his smile came off as too desperate, or maybe they would see him as rude for eavesdropping, but he knew he needed to do _something_. He couldn’t just let things stand as they were. 

Alya narrowed her eyes at him and was about to say something when Marinette said, without turning around, “Sure, Adrien.”

\--------------------------------------------------------

She wasn’t quite sure why she had said that. The entire point of today had been to do as much to keep him at arm’s length as possible. Not because of any malice on her part - she honestly didn’t think he would be very concerned about it. No, she wanted distance because if he was around, she might talk with him, and if she talked with him, then the carefully constructed emotional dam she’d built might collapse.

For all the feelings he’d stirred up in her - good and bad - she just couldn’t find the heart to lash out at him. She was afraid of putting herself out there again, and him getting cold feet a second time. It was her hope that some distance might do them both some good.

But then she heard him ask to join them. She felt the emotion behind it - the yearning and the sorrow. It came as no surprise that he felt sorry about how things had went down, so she wasn’t getting her hopes up about a change of heart. But she realized, that to the boy without many friends, maybe the cold shoulder was just as painful as rejection was to her. 

Rejection reminded her of her visitor during lunch, when she had dragged Alya to a nearby cafe for some privacy…

\--------------------------------------------------------

“Okay, girl, you need to talk to me about this. Are we shunning Adrien now? Are things cool between you two?” Her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. “He didn’t hurt you or anything, did he? I swear, I’ll…”

“No! Alya, I… I don’t really want to get into it, but Adrien was a perfect gentleman. But he made it clear that he realized he doesn’t feel the same way about me that I do about him…”

In the throes of their conversation, they hadn’t noticed a certain blonde girl making a beeline for their table.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Instinctively, Marinette narrowed her eyes. Only one person called her by her full name regularly. Sure enough, Chloe stand before them.

Before Marinette could respond, Alya had her hands on the table, seemingly ready to pounce, and spat out, “What do _you_ want? Up for round two or something?”

Ignoring the fiery reporter entirely, Chloe spoke directly to Marinette, arms crossed. “What is up with you? You’ve been ignoring Adrien all day. Something _has_ to be wrong.”

Blinking, Marinette took a few moments to respond - even Alya was too stunned to make a quip. _Was this… Chloe showing concern over her?_

As neutrally as she could, she responded, “I’m fine, Chloe.”

“Fine, whatever. I’ll leave you to wallow in your pity party.” She turned to walk away and got a few steps before looking over her shoulder. “I know you wouldn’t be ignoring Adrien without a good reason. Whatever it was that happened between you two… I know you didn’t deserve it.” 

After she was gone, Alya snorted. “Well, she is making some progress. Maybe in a couple of decades she might actually be a half-decent human being.” She pushed her glasses up and looked back to Marinette. “So. About Adrien…”

\--------------------------------------------------------

Marinette shook her head at the memory. She had managed to deflect any more probing questions about Adrien, but at least now Alya was on board with her plan to avoid him for a little while. Apparently, she had relayed this information to Nino, since the two of them were doing their best to act as a buffer zone - physically and conversationally - between her and Adrien.

Ten minutes into their walk - _Which I had originally wanted to do alone specifically to have time to think!_ \- and the conversation was pointedly about nothing in particular. Adrien had failed to get much of a word in edgewise, occasionally shooting dirty looks at Nino when he’d move a topic to safer shores. But all the chatter made it hard to focus, and her entire reason for going outside became a bust.

So when the screaming started, it almost came as a welcome relief. 

The four of them started running in the direction of everyone else, and Marinette deliberately lost track of the others as she tried to find a safe place to transform. When she did, Tikki floated out of her purse. 

“Are the others going to be okay? Both you and Alya are going to be transforming…”

She shook her head. “Nino and Adrien will at least have each other. And if Chat Noir shows up soon, then we’ll get this akuma beaten in no time at all!” Tikki nodded, but Marinette could see a bit of worry in her eyes. _No time to dwell on that._ “Tikki, spots on!”

\--------------------------------------------------------

Adrien, with some reluctance, broke off from the others and darted into a concealing bush. Plagg floated out from his den inside his bag. Drily, he said, “Oh no. And right when you were making such good progress with Marinette.”

Glaring at his kwami, Adrien struggled to come up with a retort. She didn’t want to talk to him, and his friends seemed content to let her have her way. Taking a deep breath, he focused on the task at hand. “Plagg, claws out!”

He emerged and began vaulting over the fleeing civilians, making his way to the cause of all the commotion. Flying above the crowd was an almost demonic figure. The villain had dark purple skin - which was all laid bare since the transformation had not given him clothes. Instead, patches of scales covered relevant parts, and his lower half ended in a more bird-like set of legs. His eyes were a solid red, and scorched spiral horns adorned his head. Despite his unearthly screeching, he wasn’t attempting to hit anyone with the trident he wielded in both hands. 

Just as he finished taking in the scene, Ladybug appeared at his side. “G-got anything for me, kitty?”

Adrien cocked his head to the side. _Stuttering?_ Getting back to her question, he replied, “No, LB. I think he is just trying to drive folks out. No idea why, though. Akuma these days are much less _chatty_.”

“Right, well, let’s see if we can brute force this. I don’t want to wait for him to change his mind about attacking people.”

With a nod, they launched themselves towards the villain, only to immediately collide with each other in the air. Adrien had assumed she’d go left and he right, but she hadn’t been thinking the same. He rubbed his head where he had run into her. _Weird. We’re usually more on top of things than this._

Blinking away the pain, he got up in time to block a hit meant for Ladybug. It seemed that Hawkmoth was egging on the villain now, since he was now aiming to wound rather than scare. 

Ladybug got back up and fell back a little, probably trying to get space for her lucky charm. While he was distracted watching after her, the winged pest slammed him, sending him flying against a pedestal for a statue. Immediately, she was by his side, pulling him up to his feet. 

“Are you alright, Chat?”

“Got the wind knocked out of me, but don’t worry, this cat lands on his feet.” He gave her a wink - he could almost swear that he saw her blush a little, but chalked it up to the hit on his head.

“I’m not too worried. You’ve got plenty of hot air in you, after all.” Rena Rouge’s voice came down from above them and she soon joined them on the ground.

“Good timing, though I almost had him.” Rena gave a disbelieving snort. 

Ladybug cut off any more banter by calling out to the power of her miraculous. “Lucky Charm!” A red and black lasso fell into her hands and she looked up at the akuma circling in other parts of the park. “Seems pretty simple. Rena, Chat - you two pull him down with this.” 

Before they could ask any questions, she was leaping away from them and towards the villain. The two heroes shrugged and headed after her. While in the air, Adrien noticed a familiar hat heading in the same direction, a phone pulled out in front of him. He wondered briefly why Nino wasn’t with the others. _No time for curiosity - the best way of keeping him safe is to beat this akuma._

\--------------------------------------------------------

Alya was pretty used to unresolved tension of a certain sort in her little group of friends. It was one of her major goals to help Marinette through it, one way or another. As a result, she had a lot of experience in picking up the subtle and not-so-subtle vibes of two people blissfully unaware of their true feelings for one another. 

And here she was, sensing that tension between Ladybug and Chat Noir. 

_Should I say something? Did something happen between them? I don’t want Ladynoir to sink, but I don’t want to force anything…_

Those thoughts came to a halt when she saw her boyfriend lagging behind them, phone clutched in his hands. _What the hell? Why isn’t he with the others?_

Unfortunately, by the time she noticed him they were already fighting the akuma victim, the lasso thrown around the winged horror. While this one wasn’t quite as monstrous as others she’d faced in her short stint as superhero, it certainly wasn’t powerless. A shame this realization had to happen only once she and Chat Noir were being dragged around by the villain.

Eventually, she caught onto a statue and finally got a hold of the situation again. She spared a glance for where she saw Nino last, seeing him hiding in the bushes with his phone pointed towards them. Worry and anger gripped her. _God, is this what it felt like for Ladybug and Chat Noir when I was chasing akumas for the Ladyblog?_

Before she could dwell on it further, Ladybug appeared and pulled the trident out of the villain’s hands, snapped it on her knee. A black and purple butterfly fluttered out from the two halves, only to be immediately captured by Ladybug. Alya caught the vanquished villain, setting him on the ground. As the standard flurry of ladybugs swept through the park, the monster was restored to human, and was now wearing park maintenance crew uniform. His trident had transformed back into a trash poker.

“W-where am I?” He clambered to his feet unsteadily, looking slightly nauseous. 

“Oh, don’t worry, you are in the park.”

Contrary to her expectations of this making him relieved, he instead groaned. “Ugh, back to cleaning the damned place after that fair.” He sighed. “Well… thanks for saving me, anyway.”

After thanking the other two, he ambled off, leaving the three heroes alone. Nino was starting to make his way over to them. Bemusedly, Alya realized that he might be aiming to get an interview out of them. 

“Can you two meet me on the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel tomorrow night?”

“No _purroblem_ , Bugaboo. Usual patrol time?” 

Ladybug nodded. “Yes. We’ll need the darkness as cover.” She turned to her. “What about you, Rena?”

Alya shook her head. “Sorry, LB. I got a hot date.” _And hopefully you will too. Just the two of you on a secret mission…_

“Looks like it’ll just be you and me, then, kitty.” Chat was about to ask something, but was cut off by the beeping of Ladybug’s miraculous. “Sorry! I can explain tomorrow. See you then?”

There was a weird… tenderness? Vulnerability? In that last question that silenced whatever question Chat Noir would have asked. Instead, he simply nodded and waved as she left.

“Uh, yo! Dudes! Can I get you to answer a couple of questions?”

Alya turned around to see her ‘hot date’ catch up with them. Before she could respond, Chat Noir was saying, “Hey, Ni-, new guy! Isn’t it the Ladyblogger's job to chase us down after an akuma attack?”

“Well, dude, I was actually here with her and my friends, but they must’ve gotten lost since all three of them vanished in the crowd. I didn’t know where they went, so I figured I’d head towards the akuma to make sure they didn’t go that way.”

Alya raised an eyebrow and placed a hand on her hip. “And when you didn’t see anyone else, why didn’t you leave? Akumas are pretty dangerous to be around, you know.”

Nino withered under her stare. Blushing and rubbing the back of his neck, he replied, “Well, my girlfriend is really bummed ‘cuz shes missed a bunch of akumas recently. I, uh, figured that she’d kick herself if she didn’t get anything at all this time for the Ladyblog so…” His eyes lit up. “Oh! Could you do be a solid and give me an interview? Alya has interviewed everyone else - even Truesight!”

He seemed to take her surprise for hesitation. “Please, dude? You don’t know how much this would mean to her!”

The pleading tone of his voice drew her out of her surprise and plastered a warm smile on her face. “Sure, Nino. I’d be happy to.”

The young DJ tilted his head to the side. “How’d you know my name?”

“I, uh, well - you said you were the moderator of the Ladyblog’s boyfriend. Of course I’d know who you are!” He watched her curiously for a few heartbeats, before smiling.

“Yeah, I guess so. You two ready, then?”

\--------------------------------------------------------

Another day, another set of failures in reaching Marinette. Adrien sighed as he rose from his piano practice. The sun had set and before too long he needed to meet with Ladybug. _At least that’ll be one person glad to see me._

He hadn’t realized how heartbreaking it would be to see Marinette actively avoiding him, but at least it was motivating him to make things right. Even if he had no idea how to do that at the moment. On the bright side, spring break was coming up soon. _Maybe I could get the gang together for something?_

“Are you going to be sighing and staring yearningly into the distance forever now, kid?”

Adrien glared at his kwami. “I’m forming a _plan_ , Plagg. What I’m doing now isn’t working so…”

Plagg gave a tiny shrug. “Whatever you wanna call it. Just looks like angsty nonsense from here.”

Rolling his eyes, he glanced between the empty camembert box and the clock on the wall. “You’re probably charged up enough. Plagg, claws out!”

\--------------------------------------------------------

From her vantage point on top of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, Marinette was keeping an eye on the Louvre while waiting on her silly kitty to show up.

Her eyes widened as she realized she called him “her silly kitty” inside the confines of her own mind. She didn’t want to pursue him as Ladybug - she had already turned him down once, she didn’t want that to taint the start of any relationship between them. But was it fair to use her civilian identity to go after him? And what about Master Fu’s comment on them both being happy? Maybe he _did_ have a girlfriend now and she’d missed the boat. But if that was the case, why would he have gone to visit her so… so… _tenderly_ on Valentine’s? 

She slammed her wrist into her forehead. She hadn’t even made a move yet and she was second guessing herself. 

In this state of mind, she could be forgiven for not noticing the focus of her thoughts land behind her. He was a sneaky one anyway, always trying to get the jump on her.

“Good evening, LB.” She gave an undignified squawk as she whipped around to face him. Unperturbed, he gave a shallow bow and looked over at the Louvre’s glass pyramid. “I’m guessing this is about the stolen stuff?” At her nod, he smiled. “Ready to get started?”

“Y-yeah. Let’s see if we can find the night curator or something.” A definite downside to these emotions were the slight awkwardness she felt around him now. Maybe nowhere near as bad as she had been with Adrien, but still annoying. Seeing him open up to her about, well, _her_ had been an enlightening experience, but she couldn’t quite shake the feeling that some sort of trust had been betrayed. He hadn’t known he was pouring his heart out to Ladybug, after all. 

She did her best to push down those thoughts. Duty had to come first - and they had a job to do tonight. Truesight had seemed concerned about the artifacts, in his own way. And she had to admit that she was curious about it. 

“Chat, do you think Hawkmoth is _really_ behind this?”

“I dunno, Bug. Hawkbutt was always more of an opportunist than a mastermind.” He scratched his chin. “Still… he might be rattled with all the help we’ve been getting. Truesight and Rena Rouge have been a big help.”

A sudden thought struck Marinette. “Oh my God! Truesight! He said he might have been around during Roman times, right?”

“Yeah…?”

“Which means there must have been a miraculous user.”

Realization lit up in Chat Noir’s eyes. “...Like the butterfly.”

“Yes! And Tikki said the simple fact Truesight is active is why we’ve been getting the dreams. What if Hawkmoth knows something about those texts? What if he knew what he was looking for?”

Chat began pacing, “Okay, okay.” He stopped and turned back to her, a grimace on his face. “This means he isn’t alone anymore, right? ‘Cause he definitely wouldn’t show up personally.”

“Of course! He must have help.” A big grin stretched across her face.

“Why are you smiling? Now we have more enemies!”

“True,” she admitted, “but I bet that his lackeys aren’t as well hidden. Maybe they know something about where to find Hawkmoth?”

“Ooo, I like the way you think, Bugaboo. It is the first real lead we’ve had in ages.”

Marinette nodded, turning back towards the Louvre. “For now, we need to find out what was stolen. That’ll help us find out if it was just a coincidence, or if Hawkmoth is plotting something.”

“Right behind you, LB.”

Upon approaching the door, they were met by a security guard, who stopped them.

“Oh! Uh, Ladybug, Chat Noir. What brings you to the Louvre? Not another akuma, I hope.”

“Don’t worry - there isn’t an akuma this time. We need to talk with the curator about those items that were stolen in the last attack.”

The guard seemed as if he was about to say something, but thought better of it. “Yeah, alright. Stay here and I’ll radio him over.” 

After a few minutes, the man in question appeared, looking every bit the part of the reclusive scholarly type with the wide-brimmed glasses with dark lenses and the academics’ wardrobe. The haughty arrogance that he carried himself with, however, put her more in mind of a snobby art critic than a researcher. Upon seeing the heroic duo, his expression soured, scowling faintly and narrowing his eyes at them. Once he reached them, a scent like mothballs and old parchment began rolling off him in waves. 

“Ah, Ladybug and Chat Noir. To what do we owe this honor?” 

“We wanted to learn more about the items stolen during the akuma battle.”

The scowl remained, but the historian raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And why is that?”

The undercurrent of hostility was starting to set Marinette on edge. She proceeded slowly. “...We suspect that the items might have been stolen on behalf of Hawkmoth.”

He scoffed. “No, the Louvre and the police department both agree that this was an act of opportunity. Your Hawkmoth - and your actions in dealing with his servant - were only a suitable distraction.” He narrowed his eyes again. “After all, you _did_ make it very easy for him when you sent everyone out of the building - security staff included.”

While Marinette huffed, Chat Noir stepped forward angrily. “What do you mean “our” Hawkmoth? He is an enemy of Paris! And we were just trying to keep people safe from a dangerous akuma victim!”

“Hawkmoth attacks Paris to draw _you_ out. And, if anyone had gotten injured in the attack, that cure of Ladybug’s would’ve healed all damage. Instead, we are now missing valuable artifacts.”

“That’s hardly fa-”

“Your snooping is not appreciated, and I refuse to allow you on the premise. Let the proper authorities handle this. Good night, Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

Chat took a step forward, but the security guard blocked him. He looked apologetically at the feline hero. “I’m afraid you heard the boss, I can’t let you in. Sorry.”

Marinette stopped her partner by covering his mouth with her hand. “Don’t worry about it. Have a good night!” She pulled him away by the arm. 

“Well, that was a bust.” Chat whispered angrily.

Shaking her head, she responded. “Chat, do you know why I chose Tuesday to head here?”

“No…?”

“The Louvre is closed all day and they have minimal security. I was afraid they might not let us in so…”

“...So now we can try to sneak in. Very sneaky, Ladybug.” He winked, causing her heart to flutter. “I like it.” 

Marinette turned her attention back to the task at hand. “Come on - I think we can get in this way.” 

The formidable height of the windows of the old palace would deter most individuals looking for a secret route into the museum, but with the powers bestowed on them by the miraculous, it was not a difficult proposition. More difficult to circumvent were the lights illuminating the building and the locks on the windows.

Chat Noir held up a clawed hand. “I could Cataclysm the lock?”

“What? No! We don’t want to cause any damage here. Besides I’m not entirely sure if the Ladybug cure would fix it since it wasn’t caused by an akuma.” She put a finger to her cheek in thought. “Once, I had my kwami open up a locker - maybe they could do the same here?”

“I don’t know - that certainly sounds like something Plagg can do, but if we have to keep turning our transformations on and off with every locked door, then we’ll have another problem entirely.”

“We’d have to do that anyway if we did Cataclysm for every lock we find. Once we’re inside we can look for a set of keys or something.”

Chat conceded the point with a nod. “I don’t like detransforming, but it looks like our best bet. Meet back here in ten minutes?” 

As he turned to leave, Marinette caught his forearm. “We still need to decide on which kwami to send, don’t we?”

With a small smile, Chat responded, “Trust me, you don’t want to send Plagg out on his own. He’d either get up to something or get distracted by cheese.”

She let go, giggling into her hand. “Right, right. Okay, I’ll send Tikki. Once I’m back as Ladybug, I’ll call you. Stay hidden.”

He nodded and Marinette went to find a place to hide and detransform. Crouching in among the foliage of the nearby garden, she dropped her transformation.

“Spots off.” Tikki zoomed around her head, draining the power of the miraculous out of Marinette. “You caught all that, right Tikki?”

She nodded hesitantly. “Are you sure you’ll be alright here? I hate leaving you alone like this.”

“That’s why I stuck nearby - if something happens, I’m not far from you. Just hurry, okay?”

With a more confident nod, Tikki rushed away, leaving Marinette by herself. 

\--------------------------------------------------------

Adrien was lying down on a rooftop across the street from the Louvre, staring up at a starless night sky - one of the few downsides he had seen with living in Paris. He wished he could have only one thing to be thinking about, but everything was a jumble - the story Truesight told, his date with Marinette, him messing up his date with Marinette, and now out on a mission with one of his two ladies. _Shouldn’t the superheroing part of this be the most difficult aspect? And surely the depressing tale should be the one that makes me the saddest?_

_But no. The worst parts are what I’ve done personally to make my life hard. This shouldn’t be difficult! Ladybug said no to Chat - Marinette said yes to Adrien! Why did I have to go and ruin things?!_

He sighed, doing his best to let all his regrets out in that breath. It wasn’t much, but it helped, a little. When the call came from Ladybug, he was grateful. He didn’t want to be left alone with his thoughts anymore than he had to.

\--------------------------------------------------------

“Have a nice break, kitty?”

Chat Noir gave a slight smirk. “As nice as it could be without you around.”

“R-right. Anyway! Let’s head in.”

With nothing else to add, they jumped inside the darkened space and began wandering. 

Maybe it was because akuma victims tended to not favor subtlety, but there wasn’t much challenge for two empowered teens combing through the museum. Yes, there were cameras but they were spotted and avoided without much trouble. Yes, there were guards, but they seldom looked up, letting the Parisian heroes hide in the ceiling. In fact, the only thing that gave them trouble…

“Where do we even learn about the missing artifacts?”

...Was finding the information they were after. 

“I don’t know, Chat. I was kinda figuring that there would be a shipping thing or something, but maybe it was all computerized?” She rubbed her forehead. “Ugh, let’s see if we can get deeper into the museum. Maybe some backroom somewhere has what we’re looking for.”

“This would’ve been a lot easier if the curator had talked with us.” Marinette gave a grunt of agreement, which Chat seemed to take as encouragement. “Why wouldn’t they?”

“He told us why.” Chat glanced back at her. He was leading the way on account of his better night vision. “What? Do you think he was lying?”

“I’m just saying he seemed weirdly stand-offish.”

“Well _yeah_ he had a bunch of old history stuff stolen from him, and however you spin it we’re why it could happen.”

“We were saving lives!”

“I know, but emptying the Louvre was chaotic and in the moment, I don’t-” She bumped into his back. For some reason he had come to a sudden stop.

“It was chaotic? When I got there the Louvre was basically empty. Except for…”

Marinette had a sudden flare of realization. “...Those tourists.”

Chat slapped his forehead with his hand. “God! I completely forgot about them the moment they left our line of sight!” He glared angrily at the floor as he continued in a harsh whisper. “What do you wanna bet they stuck around and waited for the akuma?”

“At least we have an idea about what they looked like.”

Chat sighed deeply. “Yeah, three completely average French citizens, two guys and a girl.”

She shrugged. “It’s better than we had before. C’mon, kitty.” She gently pushed his shoulder. “There is more to find out-”

“Ladybug? Chat Noir?” The new voice came from behind them, and sent a stab of panic through Marinette’s heart before she could place it. Turning around, some measure of calm returned to her as she saw the silhouette of Alix Kubdel. 

“Oh, uh, hey Al- Citizen.” Chat gave a nervous wave. “What, uh, what are you doing here?”

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “I live here, cat man. Now right back at you - what are _you_ doing here?”

Before Marinette could respond, Chat squeaked out something that sounded a lot like, “Random inspections.”

She turned to give him her best _‘Seriously? THAT excuse?’_ look before turning back to Alix. “To be honest, we wanted to find out about the missing artifacts, but the curator won’t talk to us and forbade us to go in. So…”

“So you sneaked in.” Alix nodded appreciatively, moving one hand to her waist and letting the other hang at her side freely. “Nice. Can’t be goody-goody two-shoes all the time with Hawkmoth running loose.”

“We think that Hawkmoth might be behind the theft, actually.” She paused to look at Alix appraisingly. “Hey, do you think you could help us? We don’t really know where even to start looking.”

Alix was looking into the middle distance, scratching the side of her face. “The guy that turned you down? Bald, huge rimmed glasses that conceal his eyes? Feels like he has a musty cloud that blows off of him?”

Chat snickered while Marinette smiled and nodded.

“Fuck that guy, always hated him. Keeps using Jalil for free translation work.” She grinned evilly. “And you know what? Dad doesn’t like him either. Follow me.”

A few minutes later, they stood inside the Kubdel residence. It was late enough in the evening that the only awake individual within was Mr. Kubdel himself, sitting in their living room with what seemed to be a historical text. For the first time ever, Marinette saw him outside of his work clothes, and instead he wore an old-timey white nightshirt with red stripes. The designer within her revolted. 

He was facing away from the door when it opened and called out over his shoulder, “Good evening, dear. How was your walk?”

“Pretty cool,” Alix began, “I met some people while I was out.”

“Oh? And who did you-” He finally looked over his shoulder, leaning on the back of the couch, to see two of the heroes of Paris standing awkwardly in his doorway. “Oh.”

Marinette stepped forward. “Mr. Kubdel, I have some questions about the items stolen during the akuma attack.”

“What? Couldn’t you have asked-” Understanding dawned on his face, followed swiftly by a slight downturn of the corners of his lips. “Mr. Cercator is running things tonight, isn’t he?”

She glanced to Alix who nodded. Looking back to Mr. Kubdel, she responded, “Yes, he made it very clear he doesn’t want us interfering in this.”

“Cyril is… a man of odd convictions. He is one of those - thankfully rare - individuals who think all would be well if you’d simply handed your miraculous over to Hawkmoth when he first attacked. The attack on the museum simply reinforced this in his mind.”

“And what do you believe?”

“Hawkmoth and his akuma don’t generally steal, and when they do they are often restored by you. I certainly don’t blame you for not expecting anything different.” He closed the book he had been reading and set it on the table, gesturing for everyone to take a seat. “But you aren’t here for speculations.”

Marinette took a seat opposite the historian, leaning forward with her arms on her legs. “No, we need information. If Hawkmoth is behind this, then finding out what was stolen might point us towards him.”

“Perhaps, but how could historic artifacts help a modern villain in his world conquest?”

Chat Noir sat heavily next to her, arms placed on the back of the couch. “Well, first let’s find out what he might have stolen, and then we’ll see if we have a _knight to remember_.” The wide grin he gave further hammered home his pun, drawing a small smile from Marinette.

Mr. Kubdel stroked his chin. “You think that Truesight might be able to divine the importance of the objects?” He hummed in thought. “Very interesting…”

Marinette cleared her throat to draw his attention. “Can we get started, then?” 

“Yes! Right, of course. So,” he pushed his glasses up, “we had recently received two shipments.”

“Two? But we only told the reporters about one.” Alix cocked her head, curious.

“That’s because at the time, we only thought one had been stolen from. The other had still been sealed, completely unopened.”

Chat frowned. “Then how’d they know what to steal from inside it?”

The historian shook his head. “I don’t know. But the first shipment had been from northern Italy. It consisted of artifacts excavated from a dig site in the Alps, and some items from a library owned by a wealthy man who recently passed. All of the artifacts were from the late Imperial Roman era and varied from pottery fragments, to gold coins, jewelry, and some well-preserved books.”

Marinette suspected she knew the answer but asked anyway. “What was taken from that set?”

“The books and a necklace. We had not even begun translation on the texts, so I can’t tell you anything about them except that they were exceptionally well-preserved. If I hadn’t had them checked by an expert, I would have even said they were penned in the last century, rather than nearly two millennia ago.”

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. That sounded a lot like magic, but she’d have to ask Truesight if that sort of thing was possible to do. There might very well be a more reasonable explanation. 

“And the necklace?”

“It was a simple bronze medallion with markings we believed were Hunnic in origin. My standing theory was that it had a religious purpose, but, of course, it was stolen before we could examine it further.”

That sounded less troubling, at least. “Okay, and what about the other shipment?”

“I’m… not entirely certainly what had been inside it previously, but the manifest claimed that all the artifacts were Sumerian. Checking the inventory, we were missing a few clay tablets but otherwise everything was accounted for.”

Marinette felt a suspicion form in the back of her mind - _Well, I know Truesight was present there at least. It’d help if I knew a specific city or something._ “Do you have any idea what could have been on those tablets?”

Mr Kubdel shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry, but no. We were supposed to do the translation and identification work on them.”

Everyone entered into an expectant quiet as Marinette absorbed this information. Chat Noir broke the silence. “Do you want to call Truesight now, or do you just want to tell him when we see him again?”

Directing her question to Mr. Kubdel, she asked, “So there is nothing else you can tell us?” When he shook his head again, she continued, “Calling him now wouldn’t help us, and I’d rather have everyone together anyway to brainstorm.” She stood up, Chat Noir mirroring her. After a moment, the Kubdels followed suit.

Mr. Kubdel offered a hand to the heroes. “Please, if there is any other way I can help, let me know.” When Marinette shook his hand, he added with a small smile, “And, if you can send your knight back our way again, I would be most grateful. His insights were… illuminating.”

Chat Noir chuckled. “Yeah, they tend to be.”

“I’d love if you guys caught the thieves that did this.” Alix added. “If nothing else, because I want to see Cyril choke on his words.”

“Alix!” Mr. Kubdel half-heartedly chidded her. 

“We’ll do our best. Good night, and thank you! Your help has been invaluable.”

\--------------------------------------------------------

Once they had made their way back outside, they retreated to their usual spot on the Eiffel Tower. Together they watched the gentle glow of their beloved city in the night, basking in it and taking quiet comfort in each other’s presence. Adrien reflected that these still moments with Ladybug were few these days - with Rena Rouge on full time, and Truesight taking on a more active mentoring role than Master Fu had, it wasn’t often just them alone. He almost let himself believe that she was hesitant to speak, since the only thing left for them to do tonight was say goodbye.

But eventually, she did speak, in a voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t like it, kitty. Not one bit.”

His ears twitched and he took a couple steps closer to her. “The theft?”

She tilted her head back and forth, a doubtful frown on her face. “Yes and no. It IS annoying, but it’s the idea that people would be working for Hawkmoth - that take _his_ side in all this - that bothers me. Way more than it should.”

“Well, it _should_ bother you. But don’t worry, my lady...” He winced internally - he’d be trying to avoid the term for his own sake. Thankfully, she seemed to perk up at the endearment. “...everyone in the public eye has people that hate them for no good reason.”

This didn’t have the comforting effect he’d gone for. Instead, she slumped her shoulders as she continued to stare out into the nighttime Parisian skyline. 

“Okay, so maybe that sounds bad, but it only means that this isn’t anything out of the ordinary.” He placed a comforting hand on her back, and felt her jolt slightly underneath it. While confused, he continued on, “Cheer up, Bugaboo! We’re going to prove all the doubters wrong, and save the day like we always do. We _are_ the Cat and Bug team after all, right?”

“Bug and Cat team you mean.” She giggled, and smiled up at his face, making his heart skip a beat. “I will see _you_ ,” she booped his nose, “on our next patrol. Bug out!” 

And just like that, she was sailing off into the chilly night. Adrien set off for home himself after a few moments recovery. 

\--------------------------------------------------------

Back in the cold darkness of his room, he dropped his transformation mid-stride, moving to turn on a couple lights and check the Ladyblog. It was more out of habit than actually expecting to learn anything new. Maybe he’d read some fanfics before bed. He noticed, while online, that both Nino and Alya were up as well. An idea came to mind and he set up a group chat.

 **Adrien:** Hey guys.

 **Adrien:** I need to ask you something.

He didn’t have to wait long - both of his friends, it seemed, already had the messenger open.

 **Alya:** Okay Sunshine you got some explaining to do

Almost simultaneously came Nino’s reply - second only because Alya was the quicker typer.

 **Nino:** Dude what happened between you n Mari

 **Alya:** Answer as if ur knee caps depend on it b/c they do

 **Nino:** plz don’t threaten my bro’s knee caps

 **Nino:** He needs those to go to my DJing stuff and also maybe be my movie star

Adrien felt a smile creep onto his face as he watched their argument unfold. He wasn’t too concerned about Alya’s threat, not because he thought she wouldn’t follow through (she definitely would - Alya could be crazy sometimes), but because he knew she would approve of his plans. The smile faded away as he remembered his error and started typing to fill in his friends.

 **Adrien:** I… let Mari down. I wasn’t sure of my feelings then, but I am now

 **Adrien:** I need to make it up to her. 

**Adrien:** So… thoughts?

 **Alya:** Girl is still crazy for you, even if she doesn’t want to admit it. This is all about you now

 **Nino:** Yeah, dude. Just like talk it out. There is a lot of mixed up feelings and u 2 need some alone time to sort it out

 **Alya:** She won’t go for that. She needs to know NOW that she isn’t gonna get burned again. She needs to know he is serious

 **Nino:** No way dude. Only way they can clear the air is a good long  <3 2 <3

As Alya and Nino descended into an argument about how best to approach the situation, Adrien felt the germ of an idea forming. He cut in with a message he hoped was suitably mysterious.

 **Adrien:** Can you two keep your schedules clear for spring break? I’ve got a plan, but I’m not 100% on times yet

 **Nino:** Dude, you’re the only one with schedules to keep

 **Alya:** Seriously, centerfold

He rolled his eyes, but accepted this without comment. Closing his phone, he began to go about his nighttime rituals for bed. His eyes steeled in determination. Soon, he was going to pull the biggest dang romantic thing he could to win over Marinette. One way or another, he was going to make this all up to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These next few chapters are going to get pretty intense in terms of the love square, and are probably going to be rather big chapters. Chapter 20 alone is _11k_ words, for Truesight's sake!


	20. Spring Break

His first thought upon rubbing the sleep from his eyes was that today was the day. Despite knowing his father was almost certainly still awake when Adrien went to bed late last night, he had decided to wait until today before asking for permission. This was at least partially because of not wanting to disturb his father so late in the evening.

But a larger part of it than he was willing to admit aloud was because he was afraid of the very high likelihood that Gabriel would say no. Adrien’s mind swirled trying to find the best way to get him to say yes. _How best would I draw enough emotion out of my father to let him do this? What could I do today to help improve his chances. Maybe if I doubled down on his scheduled work for today I could get into father’s good graces?_ Adrien shrugged. It was as good a plan as any. 

“So, kid, what’s bouncing around in that head of yours?” Plagg sat on the bedside table, nibbling at cheese as Adrien walked out of the bathroom. 

“I’m going to get my father to give me a week off for spring break.”

Plagg snorted. “Yeah, and I’m going to eat the moon.”

“You know the moon isn’t actually made of cheese.” He watched his kwami carefully as he finished the camembert in his hands in one gulp. Sometimes Plagg was incredibly thoughtful, such as the occasions he gave good advice. Other times, he was an idiot, like when he accidentally stole Chloe’s bracelet.

“Mhmm, which means it is even more unlikely for you to get what you want out of your dad.”

“I have to at least _try_ , Plagg. This really is my best shot at fixing things with Marinette.”

Plagg floated up to Adrien’s face. “Listen, I just don’t want you getting fixated on something that has a really good chance of failing at the first hurdle. Maybe you should put some thought into another plan.” He zoomed over to his personal refrigerator. “Might I suggest giving her cheese? I find that it always makes me forgive you.”

“Like most of my problems, cheese won’t help much.”

“Suit yourself.” 

\---------------------------------------------------

It was dinner time. Adrien had done his best throughout the day of getting everything done, and doing so without complaint or hesitation. It was his hope that this would help put his father in a good mood. Now, it would be _ideal_ if his father actually showed up to dinner for once…

Natalie stepped into the room, primly walking up to Adrien as he pushed around the food on his plate. “Your father will be unable to join you today. He has encountered some trouble with his designs and needs the additional time to work through this issue.”

He clamped down on the rising tide of disappointment and nodded to his father’s assistant. “Thank you, Natalie.”

Adrien reflected that, it would have been more of a surprise if he _had_ been there. Instead, he would just have to go and see his father. Which he wasn’t looking forward to at all, but he had planned for this. It wasn’t good that he was struggling creatively, however - that might make him reject Adrien out of hand out of misplaced anger.

Adrien finished his dinner and walked into the main hall, stopping by Natalie’s desk. “Could you let Father know that I’d like to talk to him?” Not even Adrien could simply walk into his father’s office unannounced. 

She stared at him blankly for a moment before nodding. Pressing a button on the machine at her desk, she said, “Sir? Adrien wishes to speak with you.”

A voice emerged from the speaker, “Inform him that I should be free in an hour.”

Looking at Adrien out of the corner of her eye, she responded, “As you wish, sir.”

“Thank you, Natalie.” He returned to his room to wait.

As he closed the door behind him, Plagg floated out of his pocket, watching Adrien carefully. He returned the stare. “What?”

“You know, kid, it isn’t exactly normal for kids to have to make appointments with their parents.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Plagg, I get that.” A smile flitted across his face as he lifted his hand where he wore the silver ring. “But most things in my life aren’t exactly normal.”

Plagg didn’t return his smile. Some energy returned to his expression. “At least you have me, kid.”

“You’ve definitely changed my life for the better.” He sat down in front of his computer. “Want to watch some videos with me while I wait?”

“They better not be cat videos. They were funny the first time, but the charm has worn off.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Adrien said as he erased ‘cat fail compilations’ from the search bar.

\---------------------------------------------------

“Father?”

“Yes, Adrien. Come in.” 

Gabriel Agreste spared only a passing glance up from whatever project he was working on to acknowledge that his son had entered the room. Adrien took a deep breath to calm his nerves, all the while fidgeting with his ring. There wasn’t good odds of this succeeding, but he needed to at least try.

“I… I’d like some time off during spring break.” He looked up at his father, to see him staring back at him.

“Why?” The simple question got under Adrien’s skin. Anger gave him a confidence he hadn’t possessed walking into the room.

“Haven’t I earned some free time?” He was being gutsy - perhaps a bit too much so. Answering a question with a question could simply rile his father up.

“Possibly.” Adrien felt a surge of elation flow through him. _Was this father conceding the point?_ “But you would not be asking if you didn’t have an idea for what you wanted to do with this downtime.”

“Well, I… I was hoping to take my friends up to our cabin in the Alps.”

His father was practically staring through him now, one eyebrow raised. The empty silence was… unnerving and Adrien felt the sudden desire to fill it.

Quiet desperation crept into his voice. “Please, father! I wanted to do something nice for my friends, and the last time I went to the cabin...” He couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence, but the implications lay heavy on both of them. When he continued, his voice was more subdued, his emotions placed on a shorter leash, “We haven’t used it in a while. It seems like a waste, after all the times we spent there.”

Gabriel Agreste allowed the silence to linger for a few moments before responding. “The cabin is hardly left idle, but yet it _is_ empty for the moment. Who did you intend to take with you?”

Adrien tried his best not to fumble his words. “Well, uh, Nino, of course. Alya - Nino’s girlfriend,” Adrien swallowed before finishing, “and, uh, M-Marinette.” He trailed off, withering under the passive stare his father was sending at him.

“Marinette.” His father said the name slowly, stroking his chin as his gaze shifted to the middle distance. “Is that not the girl you were making the dress for?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking at the wall behind his father while giving a meek ‘yes’ in response.

“Natalie and I will not be present for most of the two weeks that you would have spring break. I suspect that even if I reject your proposal, you will not spend your time productively with us absent.” He returned to working on his designs. “Very well. You may have a week at the cabin. The Gorilla will accompany you all.”

Adrien’s face lit up as happiness bubbled up inside him. “Thank you, father!”

“I expect you to be on your best behavior until then, and during this trip.” He locked onto Adrien’s eyes. “Don’t make me regret this.”

“I won’t, father! Thank you!”

“Very good. Dismissed.”

Spirits high, he returned back to his room to tell Plagg the good news.

“I dunno, kid. This happened weirdly easily.”

“Maybe, but I’m not about to question it. Everything is turning out good, for once. Now I just need to tell everyone…”

After a moment’s thought he went to the group chat with all four of them and sent a message out.

Adrien: I need to talk to you guys during lunch tomorrow. I have a plan for spring break that just got approved by my father!

After a round of confirmations, he got started on his homework, a content smile on his face. Things were going to work out.

\---------------------------------------------------

“Okay, dude, you’ve had us in suspense all day. What plan do you have rolling around in that head of yours?” Nino sat down next to him at the cafe they’d chosen for their lunch break. For his part, Nino was sipping a hot chocolate with a croissant on standby.

“My family has this cabin up in the Alps where we can spend the week.” He looked between his small group of friends, knowing there was a dopey smile on his face. “What do you think?”

Alya was grinning, a victorious glint in her eyes as she spared a glance towards Nino. “That sounds perfect, blondie. I could use some time away from my family. It gets crowded in our house sometimes.”

“Same, dude.” Nino shuffled easily. “But, uh, where exactly is this cabin?”

Adrien chuckled, well aware that Nino wasn’t much of an outdoorsmen. “Don’t worry, bro. It’s near Orcières, so there will be plenty to do if you don’t want to romp around in the outdoors. Plus, the cabin has plenty going for it too.”

The tension in his shoulders faded away at those words. “Awesome! I like the outside as much as anyone else, but the inside is where I chill out best.”

“This is a vacation, Nino. Do what you feel comfortable doing.” He placed a reassuring hand on his best friend’s shoulder. He looked over to Marinette, who had been nibbling at her lunch throughout at the conversation. “What about you, Mari?”

She rapidly looked between them all, noticing their stares. “Oh, uh, well, it sounds great and all…” Adrien frowned, sensing a ‘but’ coming. Her eyes locked with his and he glanced down at the table they were sitting at, trying not to let his disappointment show. He heard her sigh, and she finished, “...yeah, okay. I think I can pull this off. I’m not sure how excited my parents will be about me going away for a week, and I’ll have to answer a battery of questions, but I’m sure they’ll let me go.”

Immediately, he perked back up, smiling at Marinette, who gave a half-smile back. Alya cleared her throat. “So, sunshine, tell us about this cabin. What’s it like? Do we need to bring a lot? What about food? Money?”

“Oh, don’t worry about money. I can cover most of your expenses.” He shrunk under the daggers Marinette was staring at him. “But, uh, if you want to cover yourselves, maybe like fifty to a hundred euros? For restaurants and gifts and stuff?” 

Nino let a breath out. “Not cheap, but I can probably scrape something together.”

“The Gorilla will be coming with us. He’ll be cooking our lunches, so you don’t need to worry about meals. Maybe bring snacks. Oh! And he’ll be driving us up, so you’ll need a way to entertain yourselves for seven or so hours.”

His friends blanched at that. Alya was the first to recover. “I suppose I could use the time to write articles for the Ladyblog.” Slowly, Nino and Marinette nodded along, clearly trying to think of how they’d not go stir crazy.

“Anyway, the cabin is fully stocked with stuff we’d use on the mountain, excluding really specialized gear, so just bring what you would if you were hanging out at a house for a week.”

Marinette leaned onto the table, a glint of excitement in her eyes. “So what’s the cabin like?”

“Oh, it’s great! There’s an awesome TV, loads of space, a big fireplace. Some games, a hot spring, stuff like that. It is _cool_ up there.” He looked off into the distance with a smile as his friend’s groaned at his pun. “I really liked our family trips up there. We haven’t gone since…” His smile began to fade and he trailed off before forcing a smile. “...Well, we haven’t been up there in a while.” 

His friends were looking at him with concern. _Way to go. I’ve ruined the mood, again._

“So… are you guys in?”

“Definitely, dude.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for an interview with Ladybug, sunshine.”

“I can’t wait.”

He looked into Marinette’s eyes as he responded, hoping that this would all work out. “Neither can I.”

\---------------------------------------------------

Later that evening, Adrien was standing in front of Master Fu’s shop, quietly letting himself inside. As he closed the door, he heard a voice behind him.

“Ah, Chat Noir. It is good to see you.” Turning around, he saw Master Fu standing in the open room, his brow furrowed in confusion. “But, this is not a day that you are scheduled for training. What brings you here?”

“I needed to tell Truesight that I won’t be in town for a few days starting on Tuesday.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “...Are you mad?”

Master Fu smiled gently. “Of course not. I understand that you could use some rest. I am simply glad that you are giving us warning.”

He nodded gratefully, letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in. “Thank you! I’d better go tell Truesight. It was good seeing you!” He bowed to the shifu before heading down below.

The man he was looking for was writing in a thick book, pausing to look up at the ladder as Adrien was coming down it. When Adrien’s feet hit the ground, Truesight put the book aside and rose, a wide grin on his face. “Lad! I wasn’t expecting you today. What prompts this visit?”

When Adrien went to shake the offered hand, Truesight pulled him into a hug, where the taller man whispered, “And how was the date with Marinette?”

Truesight pulled back, his grin replaced with a worried frown as he took in Adrien’s expression. “Are you okay, lad? I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“No, no, it’s fine. I just… I let my feelings for Ladybug get in the way, and now I’m trying to make it up to Marinette.” He looked back up at Truesight. “Which kinda brings me to why I’m here. I’m going on a vacation, and I wanted to let you know that I’ll be gone for about a week.”

Returning to his seat, Truesight scratched his cheek in thought. “Ah, so this is about love. A worthy quest. Well, it’ll be a shame to not have such a capable warrior at my back, should an akuma appear.” He smiled up at Adrien, who was touched at the compliment. “But don’t worry, I’ll keep everyone safe while you’re gone.”

“Thanks.” He shuffled on his feet. “So… you aren’t upset?”

“‘Course not, lad. I’ve got it covered here, don’t you worry.”

“Great! Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say, so I’ll head back home now.”

“As you wish lad.” Once Adrien was part way up the ladder, he called after him. “Oh, and good luck. I’m sure things will work out well, in the end.”

He flashed a hopeful smile to Truesight, humming excitedly to himself as he made his way back home.

\---------------------------------------------------

After clearing everything with her family, Alya made her way to Master Fu’s shop, gracefully leaping from rooftop to rooftop. It was a powerful feeling, sailing over Paris with just the power in her own legs. Not even Ladybug and Chat Noir could do it as well as she could. The chilly night air was made all the sweeter for knowing it was a Friday evening and she wouldn’t need to be up early for classes tomorrow.

She put aside those musings as she entered the darkened shop. Just as she was about to enter the secret passage, a voice from the hall startled her. 

“Good evening, Rena Rouge. I am pleased to see you.” She turned to her left to see Master Fu standing there with a cup of tea in each hand. When he leaned forward to hand her one, she gratefully accepted it. Normally, she wasn’t a tea person, but she was willing to make an exception for the delicious tea made by the old master.

“Sorry I can’t chat today. I just needed to let Truesight know about me going out of town for a few days.”

Master Fu raised his eyebrows. “Is that so?”

“Yup!” She caught his expression. “Is… that alright?”

Concern melted from his face. “No… everything should work out fine, I believe. The warning is appreciated.”

“Okay, well… thanks for the tea, Master.” She gave an awkward bow - _Is this what we’re supposed to do? I’ve just sorta been following Ladybug and Chat Noir’s lead on this._ \- and headed down below.

She hadn’t fully shaken off her distrust of Truesight, but the warm smile that he sent her way made her at least believe he didn’t harbor similar sentiments toward her. He rose to greet her. 

“Lass! Tis good to see ye.” Curiosity crept into his bright expression. “I’m surprised that you’ve come to visit. Is there something amiss?”

“Oh, don’t worry. Nothing is destroying Paris at the moment. I’m going to be gone from the 24th through the 3rd. I figured you’d want to know. After all, I don’t want to be yelled at for not showing up to an akuma fight when I’m not even in the city.” She grinned and winked.

Briefly, surprise flickered across his face. It was quickly hidden by amusement as he commented, “Your cunning will be sorely missed. It is a shame that we will now have to fight without subterfuge on _our_ side.” He sighed. “Still, I hope that your vacation will be enjoyable.”

She gave a two finger salute as she turned to head back up the ladder. “Oh, don’t worry about that. I think this will be a very _eventful_ holiday.” Her message relayed, she leapt off into the night, leaving Truesight with his growing concern.

\---------------------------------------------------

As expected, Marinette had to field loads of questions from her parents. Many of those questions she couldn’t answer herself, forcing her to ask Adrien for the information she needed. By the time she had everything sorted, it was Sunday, with two days until they drove to the cabin. With the cover of night, she made the trip to Truesight. While she _could_ use her communicator, she felt that this sort of information ought to be handled face to face. It was common courtesy, after all.

The building was still and quiet as she made her way down into Truesight’s lair. She assumed that Master Fu had gone to bed - unsurprising given how late it was. It was only as she was getting her bags packed had it occurred to her that Truesight would definitely need to know that she was going to be missing. She felt a pang of regret that they didn’t have patrol today or tomorrow, so she could tell Chat and Rena about her departure.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed she’d hit the bottom of the ladder until Truesight cleared his throat, looking up at her from his spot at his table. He was wearing a wry smile.

“Let me guess - you are going on vacation and won’t be able to defend Paris in case of an akuma attack?”

“That’s… right.” She stepped forward, leaning on the back of the chair opposite him. “How’d you know?”

Shrugging his shoulders, he said, “Call it intuition.” Under his breath he added, “Or being able to see a pattern.”

Slowly, Marinette continued. “Right… anyway…” She picked up her normal cadence. “Can you let Chat Noir and Rena Rouge know? They’ll need to be careful, since they won’t have the Ladybug cure to fix everything.” Her eyes widened, and she slapped her forehead in frustration.

“Something the matter, lass?”

“I just realized I can’t leave. I’m the only one who can purify akumas.”

Truesight scoffed. “You ever think about how purification isn’t really an aspect of luck or creation? Ever wonder where the Ladybug miraculous even picked up the ability?”

Marinette put a finger to her chin - she had never actually given much thought to her powers, but now that he brought it up… “I suppose it doesn’t really fit.”

Standing up, he pulled the scabbard containing his sword off his belt and placed it on the table. “Your purification ability comes from this sword’s own powers. If worst comes to worst, I can purify the akuma.” He leaned back in his chair. “‘Course, the Ladybug cure is all you.”

She relaxed. _So they can probably get by without me, then._

“We will sorely miss your leadership, but I think I can keep the team in line in your absence.” The wry smile returned, as if he was making a joke that she didn’t get. 

“Okay.” She paused as she turned toward the ladder, only to spin around to face Truesight again. “Please make sure Chat Noir doesn’t get himself hurt. He usually rushes into a fight, and if something happens to him while I’m gone…” Her gaze fell to the floor, unwilling to finish the sentence.

“Don’t worry, lass. I’m sure Chat Noir - and Rena Rouge for that matter - will be perfectly safe. I’ll do my best to keep Paris in one piece while you are gone. I promise.”

She nodded appreciatively and climbed the ladder.

Once she was gone, Truesight ran a hand through his hair, and let out a long breath. _This is going to be… interesting._ A mirthless smile passed over his face. _Just like old times..._

\---------------------------------------------------

Monday came and went, Marinette spending most of the time checking, double checking, and triple checking that she had everything she needed. While they wouldn’t be far from stores, she definitely didn’t want to be the one that prompted the two hour trip to the nearest city. The thought of the long trip reminded her of the even larger drive just to get to this Agreste hideaway - even assuming everything went well and they didn’t stop, it would be seven and a half hours. 

Which is why she was awake at six in the morning, both bags at her side, and her sketchpad in hand. Well, that was _most_ of the reason why she was up so early. The other had to do with her dreams. Not the mystical vision sort that she was strangely getting used to - well, unless one considers hot boys a ‘mystical vision’. She didn’t appreciate the effort by her subconscious, since she couldn’t even tell which green-eyed, blonde boy was the center of the fantasy. _My own dreams can’t even make a decision, and I’m supposed to somehow move on from Adrien? The next week is going to be my greatest challenge yet._

She was stirred from her sulking by the bell above the bakery door. The sounds of conversation picked up, and she recognized Alya talking with her mom, listening close as the footsteps drew closer.

“Hey, girl! You ready for a most-expenses paid vacation into the Alps? How cool is that!” Her best friend plopped down on the couch next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and gently shaking her in excitement.

“Yeah… It’ll be great!” Her attempt as feigned enthusiasm didn’t get past Alya, who settled back against the couch, arms crossed.

More subdued now, Alya continued, “Things might be rough between the two of you right now, but he’s trying to reach out to you, girl! ”

“He said last time he was trying, but he just couldn’t. What if the same thing happens again?” Her eyes shifted from Alya to the wall in front of her. “W-what if it all goes great, but then _something_ makes him realize that he.. That he… doesn’t feel the same way?” When she turned back to Alya, the other girl was already moving forward to wrap her in a hug, which she gratefully returned.

Alya whispered into her ear, “I know you’re scared, but taking risks is a part of love, right?”

“It _hurt_ , Alya. I don’t know if I can do that again anytime soon.” They pulled apart, and Marinette dabbed at her eyes where nascent tears had begun to form. “Or, you know, at all.”

“I feel you, girl. But you gotta know I’m almost as much of an Adrienette shipper as I am a Ladynoir shipper. You two are just as perfect for each other as Ladybug and Chat Noir are.”

Marinette suppressed the sigh that threatened to escape her. _Yeah, that’s the problem._

Before they could continue, Marinette heard the bell above the door again, her heart skipping a beat when she caught the sound of Adrien’s voice. She felt a hand squeeze her shoulder, and shot an appreciative glance to Alya as she got up. Picking up her bags, she entered the bakery. Sure enough, Adrien and Nino were standing around chatting with her mother.

“It’s so nice that you’re going to the Alps! I don’t know if Marinette told you, but Tom and I had a romantic getaway in the mountains a few years into our marriage.” She clasped her hands to her chest. “It was heavenly.”

Blissfully, Adrien responded, “That’s cool! Did you guys go skiing while you were up there? Did Marinette go with you?”

With growing horror, she heard her mother laugh. “Oh no, dear, we spent most of our time indoors. And Marinette wasn’t around quite yet, though after we got back-”

“Hey, guys! You just about ready to leave?! _I_ sure am!” Marinette interrupted desperately. She really didn’t want to think about how she was conceived today.

Still unaware, Adrien’s eyes widened at the sudden interjection, but he nodded. “Uh, y-yeah. The Gorilla is parked close by. He just dropped us off to get you two.” They started funneling out, Adrien holding the door open for everyone else. “Goodbye, Sabine!”

Her mother waved at them from the counter. “Have a safe trip!”

A short walk later and they found the van. It hadn’t been too difficult, seeing as how the giant of man tasked with bodyguarding Adrien was standing directly next to it. Once he saw them approaching, he opened the back hatch of the van. After they stored all their bags in, he closed it and climbed into the driver’s seat, leaving the rest of them to file in. 

Marinette climbed in first. Noticing that there was a middle row and a back row, she opted for the rearmost and slid against the furthest seat from the door. This choice was made under the assumption that Alya would follow her into the back and since Nino was right behind her, she’d end up as far removed from Adrien as possible. What actually happened was that she saw Alya slid in front of her into the middle row, Nino settling in next to her. Meaning…

“Hey, Mari. I... brought an iPad if you wanted to watch some movies with me.” He held up the device as he buckled himself in. 

While he was distracted, she shot a glare at Alya, who shrugged, mouthing ‘ _I warned you_.’

Turning back to Adrien, she was met with his hopeful expression. She held up her iPod and sketchbook. “Sorry, I have some designs I’d like to work on. Maybe later?” 

“Oh! Totally, yeah, go ahead.” If it weren’t for the fact she’d gotten pretty good at reading his facial expressions from playing his ads on repeat, she might have missed the flash of disappointment that appeared before being hidden. 

As the music drowned out the world beyond her drawings, she reflected that she never imagined she’d willingly ignore Adrien Agreste, of all people. She didn’t like it, but… it has to be done, for her own sake.

\---------------------------------------------------

The car came to a stop outside a gas station in Auxerre. It had been a long two and a half hours, and Alya needed to stretch her legs. With only a minimal amount of shoving she got Nino out the door. She had noticed that Marinette had fallen asleep, but the stopping had woken her up - if Nino and her were quick to get out, then Adrien and Marinette would have a good few minutes alone while the car was getting filled up. 

Once they were in the store, Nino asked her, “Seriously, babe? You are cray cray if you think a couple minutes in the van is gonna be enough.”

She gently smacked his arm, but couldn’t argue his point. “I guess, but every little bit helps, right? It can’t hurt.” They started going through the aisles, looking for snacks. She kept an eye out for any cotton candy - a fed Trixx was one less likely to get into trouble, and she doubted she would find any popcorn out here. “So… looking forward to anything at the cabin?”

“Besides some time away from home and some fun with my best dudes? Definitely looking forward to that TV and surround system Adrien mentioned.”

“Of course _you’d_ be excited for the indoors stuff.”

“Well yeah. I’m definitely not what you’d call an outdoorsman.”

“You know they’re going to be dragging around outside a lot, right?” 

Nino shrugged. “Babe, with you as my girlfriend I kept getting dragged into akuma battles, so how much worse could this be?”

When she turned back to glare at him, he was grinning. “You _didn’t_ have to follow me. I was perfectly fine reporting even when it was just me.”

“Maybe, but I can’t let you go charging in alone, and I know I can’t stop you-”

“Damn right you can’t.”

“-so that means going in after you.”

“I’ve gone in plenty of times by myself!”

“Maybe in the past, but there is no way I’m letting you do that now. I care too much about you to let you do it alone.” It was the matter-of-fact way he said it that touched her. _Now if only she could get those two dorks to be this open with each other..._

Smiling, she patted his head. “Aw, I knew I kept you around for a reason. But anyway, Ladybug fixes everything.”

“Yeah, the physical part of things. But you keep the memories - the close calls, the people being winked out of existence...”

She winced. That was very true. And with how monstrous the akuma victims were becoming these days… that fact became very clear. 

“Well that got heavy.” They were approaching the checkout. Thankfully, they did have some bagged cotton candy.

“Yeah.” Nino paused. “Want to help me out with some movie stuff on the way up? We got tons of time.”

“That depends.” She looked him in the eye. “Do you still add unnecessary love scenes in your horror movies?”

\---------------------------------------------------

For the third and penultimate time, the car pulled into a parking lot. It had taken them just over six hours, but they were now in Grenoble, in the foothills of the Alps. They were also starving - the snacks helped, but they were no replacement for real food. 

“So where do you guys… want… to… and they’re gone.” Adrien watched Marinette pull Alya along behind her as they entered a small Italian restaurant. When Nino started going after them, Adrien caught his arm. “Do you mind if we go to that Chinese buffet across the street instead? I’d like to talk.”

With a chuckle, Nino replied, “Don’t you mean vent? And totally dude, that’s no problem. I could go for some Chinese anyway.”

Adrien stopped to tell the Gorilla where he was going, getting a nod in response. For his part, the Gorilla was going to pick up some groceries for the cabin. 

Once they were seated with their plates in front of them, Adrien started talking. “I don’t know, bro. I didn’t expect it to be this difficult. It’s like she is doing her best to avoid talking with me. Which I _get_ , but how do I make her realize I’m definitely for her now?” He finished his small tirade to see Nino shoveling food into his mouth. Nino glanced back up at him. 

“Listen, dude. This isn’t something that you are gonna fix in a snap. This is real life - not one of your mangas.”

“But Alya said-”

“No matter what Alya says, a big display ain’t gonna do it. You need to show you can be there for her, and not get cold feet again, okay?”

Sullenly, Adrien nodded.

“Good, now eat up. No way am I going to listen to you complain about being hungry later just ‘cause you were being a moody romantic.”

After they had gotten their second plates, Adrien asked, “...Do you really think she’ll give me another shot?”

“Crush like that doesn’t just go away, dude. She’s hurt, but she still cares.”

Adrien nodded and they finished their meal chatting about plans for the upcoming week. Despite his ongoing disappointment, he let himself believe that there might just be hope for him and Marinette yet. 

\---------------------------------------------------

Walking at the head of the group, Adrien held open the large doors of the cabin, motioning to the rest of his friends to enter in before him. Marinette glanced back at the van that they she had come to know well over the past eight plus hours. As it backed out of the driveway and moved down the trail to the main resort, she wasn’t quite certain if she was sad to see it go, or relieved that the journey was over. 

She walked up the stairs and crossed the threshold, flashing a brief smile to match Adrien’s and got her first view of the cabin’s interior. To her left was a stylish living area, with four marble tables pushed together. Two long, light grey couches formed two sides of a square, with three chairs made of a similar fabric occupying the third side, and a large fireplace set against the wall finishing the shape. Past the living area was a spiral staircase, leading both to the second floor and the basement. To her right was the entrance of a kitchen - which was also the only part of this floor that was walled off from the rest. Following the wall, she found a dining room consisting of a long table surrounded by ten chairs. Nearby, four tall cabinets held a variety of dishes and silverware. 

“Okay, guys.” Marinette was drawn out of her exploration by Adrien’s voice. As she turned to face him, she noticed that Nino had claimed a spot lying down on the couch and Alya had entered the kitchen. Adrien himself was leaning on the railing of the spiral staircase, looking down at them with a satisfied grin. “We’ve got about an hour before the Gorilla comes back from the resort with our passes and stuff. So how’d you like to go on the grand tour?”

Alya trudged up the stairs as Nino begrudgingly got off the couch. “Lead on, sunshine.”

While they were climbing the stairs, Adrien began talking excitedly. “We used to come up here once or twice a year, starting all the way back when I was six or seven. Sometimes we were up here more, depending on how stressful a given fashion season had been on father.” 

They reached the top of the spiral, emerging onto a wide open floor, only sparsely furnished with potted plants situated on tables, and a few vending machines. 

When Alya reached the top, she walked over to the machines, placing her hands on her hips as she glared at them. “Why does your home away from home have vending machines, blondie?”

Adrien followed her, and Marinette saw his genuine smile give way to his fake, model smile. “Oh, well, we don’t come up here much at all anymore, so father rents the cabin out to star employees or friends.” He looked over to Marinette and Nino. “We were actually pretty lucky that we came when we did, since no one has it claimed for a while.” He stared off into the nothingness of the wooden walls.

“...You okay, dude? You kinda got this far off look there for a minute.”

Whatever Adrien had been thinking about, he snapped out of it to look at Nino. “Ah, it’s nothing, really. Honestly, at least this way we got to keep the cabin. If we weren’t going to use it at all, father probably would’ve just sold it.” He ran his fingers along one of the tables, an unreadable expression on his face.

They stood in silence for a few moments longer, before Adrien seemed to shake off his settling emotions. He walked over to a double door. “Anyway! Over here is the balcony overlooking the back of the cabin. It’s also pretty good for stargazing, if you don’t mind the cold.”

A calculating gleam in her eyes, Alya responded, “Noted, sunshine. And what about those doors over there?” 

Marinette followed her finger in the direction of a wide hallway that ended in a window that reached from ceiling to floor. At the very start of the hallway were two doors on opposite sides.

“Oh, those are the bedrooms. There are, uh, only two in the cabin, but the beds are really big, so we can fit everyone no problem! We can look in later, when we split up to sleep.” Adrien started down the staircase, prompting everyone else to follow him. Marinette lagged behind, throwing a curious glance towards the doors. _Well, it’s not like this is the first time I’d be sharing a bed with Alya. I wonder if it’ll be a new experience for the boys, though…_ She giggled and followed after them.

Adrien and Marinette were fine once they reached the very bottom of the spiral staircase, but Nino and Alya were slightly worse for wear.

“Dude, why didn’t your daddio include an elevator or something?”

Adrien teased, “Nino, if _that_ was enough to tire you out, maybe you could make good use of the fitness room down here.”

They stepped out of the hallway the stairs ended in, and walked into a wide room loosely divided by four white stone pillars. On the other side of the pillars was a rectangular pool of water, maybe a foot deep, being fed by a fountain in the middle. Benches sat at opposite ends of the twenty meter pool. On their side of the pillars was a hallway of sorts. To their right, the ‘hallway’ ended in a door. To their left, the hallway ended in another door, but also branched off to left.

Adrien pointed to the shallow pool. “That isn’t much good for swimming in - and that was when I was small enough that the small depth wasn’t much of an issue. But don’t worry! The resort has a much better one. I think father just wanted this for aesthetic or something.” 

Nino eyed the pool skeptically. “That’s a lot of trouble to go through just for something to look nice.”

“Well, that’s father for you.” Adrien stood next to the door to the right. “In here is fitness equipment, a TV, and a couple pool tables. But over here,” he jogged down the hall, “is what I think you guys will like the most about this place.” With a hand on the handle, he waited until they were all next to him before he opened the door. 

If he was hoping for awed whispers and giddy excitement, then mission accomplished. Inside the room was their own private hot spring, complete with a wall covered in racks laden with fresh towels. Marinette spotted two doors along the right hand wall. Before she could ask about them, Alya cut in with an excited exclamation.

“God! This is going to be _so great_ to unwind in after a day of you two dragging us around on your adventurous crap.” 

“Hey, I’m not going to be pushing you to do much more than hiking. And maybe some climbing. But all it’s beginner stuff anyway!”

“Watch it, centerfold. Just because some of us aren’t crazy fit like you doesn’t mean we can’t keep up.”

Nino held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Uh, speak for yourself, babe. I’m not too proud to admit I can’t keep up with my boy Adrien. Dude has a rock wall _in his bedroom_.” 

Adrien grinned and pointed down the branched off corridor. “Anyway, my absolute favorite room is down here.” Nino and Alya began walking down that way, and Marinette lagged behind, catching Adrien’s arm.

“H-hey, Adrien? What about those two doors in the hot spring?”

He glanced at the doors in question, a light blush coloring his cheeks when he looked back down at her. “Oh, uh, those are the changing rooms.”

Marinette was suddenly struck by the thought of Adrien in a bathing suit, and her own face reddened as she did. Thankfully, Adrien had already turned away to follow their friends. _Why didn’t I realize this sooner? He even asked us to bring swimsuits!_

Her previous fluster fell away as she entered the room the others had gotten into. Two sofas that had more in common with beds than lesser couches formed two rows, each with a long wooden table in front of them. The walls were covered in thick padding, which Marinette assumed were soundproofing, with a few speakers strategically placed throughout. A huge TV took up most of one wall. Underneath it, were four drawers, each a meter long. Adrien knelt down and pulled out on drawer, revealing densely packed DVDs. 

From his position on the floor, Adrien turned back at them with a boyish grin. “See why this is my favorite?”

Before anyone else could react, Alya had thrown one of her hands up and shouted, “Dibs on choosing the first movie!”

\---------------------------------------------------

As the argument with a smug Alya broke out between his friends, Adrien felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He read the text that he had just received.

Gorilla: Young Mr. Agreste, I will be making dinner soon. Hasten to bring your friends to the dining hall, if you would please.

He slipped the phone back in his pocket, and cleared his throat. “Guys? The Gorilla just got back and he’s making dinner, if you’re hungry.”

“Woah woah woah, dude. He _cooks_?” Nino shot him a disbelieving glance.

“Well, yeah. Up until like a year ago I was at home almost all the time I wasn’t at photoshoots. If he didn’t do stuff other than bodyguard and drive me around, then there wouldn’t be much point to him being there.”

“I guess.” Nino stepped out of the room, motioning for the others to follow. “C’mon, now I’m curious.”

As they reached the top of the stairs, Adrien caught the scent of chopped onions, and the steady rhythm of a knife chopping. His chauffeur leaned out of the kitchen doorway, wearing an apron more appropriately sized for Marinette than the giant of a man. He pointed with his chin to the four lanyards spread out on the table. In the corner was a bag of what Adrien assumed to be the climbing gear for tomorrow. 

Before he could disappear back into the kitchen, Adrien asked him, “Hey, what’re you cooking?”

His perpetual grimace remained as he growled a single word, “Soup.”

Adrien grinned - the Gorilla made excellent French onion soup. “That sounds great! Thanks.”

With a slight nod, he returned to the kitchen.

Nino fell heavily into the couch, letting out a loud sigh of relief as he sunk into the soft fabric. Not a moment after, Alya had cuddled up next to him. Happiness for his friends warred with barely suppressed jealousy within Adrien, and he looked over to Marinette. Or, at least, he looked to where she had just been. Instead, he caught a glimpse of pigtails disappearing into the kitchen. Curious, Adrien followed after her.

“Hey, Mr… actually, what _is_ your name? I don’t think I’ve ever heard Gabriel or Adrien call you by anything other than your job title.” 

He gently nudged her out of the way to reach a pot that was behind her. Before he turned back, he said in his rumbling voice, “Francis.”

“Francis...” Marinette seemed to taste the name, looking thoughtful. Adrien leaned against the doorframe, watching events unfold. “So, how old was Adrien when you first starting looking after him?”

The gas fires roared to life as he began to put the ingredients together. “Seven.”

“Really? Over-protective Gabriel took seven whole years to give his son a bodyguard?” She said it with a smirk, but Francis’s lips still tugged downward in a frown.

“Threats.”

“W-what?”

Adrien cut in, knowing that his bodyguard wasn’t a huge fan of small talk. “When my father got international success, that came with a bunch of threats. Usually, they’d threaten father himself. Other times…” He trailed off, watching Marinette’s eyes widen in shock. Clearing his throat, he continued. “Eventually, father cut down the staff at home, to minimize risks. Apart from maids, Francis and Nathalie are the only people that work at the mansion.”

Francis was nodding along as he prepared the soup, Marinette looking between the two of them in dismay. “And this doesn’t bother either of you two?”

Shrugging, he replied, “I’ve lived with it for most of my life. People are always chasing after me - you’ve seen that.” She winced, probably remembering Adrien’s ill-fated attempt to see his mother’s movie. “Complete strangers loving and hating me is just something I’ve grown up with.”

The reply that she was about to voice was cut short when Francis shooed them out of the kitchen. The door creaked shut behind them, Marinette pouting at Adrien before making her way to where their friends were seated. Adrien thought he could almost make out a pained expression on her face when she saw them snuggled up against each other, but it passed just as soon as she saw it. 

Half an hour passed in pleasant conversation before the soup was ready. It was just as delicious as Adrien remembered it to be, reminding him of happier times. Once dinner was eaten, the Gorilla retired to his hotel room in the resort, leaving the gang to their own devices.

\---------------------------------------------------

Although they were full from dinner, they still decided that it was too early for them to settle into bed just yet. While Marinette wanted nothing more than to curl up in what had to be incredibly snug blankets, she acquiesced to watching a movie in the basement first. At least then Alya would be as tired as she was, and wouldn’t keep her up for hours trying to talk. 

Unfortunately, it was only once Alya had everyone in the basement that she reminded them that she had first dibs. And the sacred laws of dibs cannot be revoked - despite the fact that Marinette knew Alya would choose a romantic comedy, which was just about the last thing that she wanted to watch right now. This reluctance only increased when Alya sat down in the front row, Nino sprawled out next to her with his head in her lap which meant - 

“I guess that means we’re taking the back row, Mari.” Adrien voiced her thoughts aloud. He was rubbing the back of his neck as he made the observation.

“Y-yeah, looks like it.” _Darn it, I’m moving on from him! Stop stuttering already!_

They settled into the couch/bed hybrid, Marinette deliberately keeping a respectable distance between them. This proved difficult to maintain, due to the couch’s best efforts to sink in just such a way to draw them closer together.

By the end of the movie, their arms were pressed up against each other. Marinette was very aware of the hitch in his breath every time she shifted, and felt his body stiffen when they would make contact. Now she just wanted to relax and go to bed.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Marinette witnessed Alya and Nino reluctantly parting with each other as they went to opposite rooms. In the last few months, it had been a common complaint of Alya’s that she never got to see Nino enough. While she never outright said why - always waving it off as Ladyblog work - Marinette knew that her duties as Rena Rouge often interrupted dates and forced her to cancel at the last minute.

This all was at the forefront of her mind as her eyes locked with Alya, and quietly asked, “Do you want to swap me to swap rooms with Nino?”

Alya wore her excitement openly, but it was quickly quenched by concern. “Girl, are you sure?” She leaned in to whisper when she noticed Nino and Adrien watching them curiously. “I don’t want you to deal with that kind of awkward tension. I’ll be fine, honest.”

She put her arm across the doorway, blocking Alya. “No, you two have been stressed since you guys don’t get to see each other much. Make the most of this trip. I need to get comfortable with Adrien anyway. We’re stuck together for the entire week, after all.”

Alya pulled her into a hug. “Geez, girl, you are too sweet for your own good.” She pulled back and gave her a sly wink. “Just don’t get _too_ comfortable with him.”

Rolling her eyes, Marinette walked towards the boys. “Hey, Nino. Wanna switch rooms?”

With a grateful smile, Nino accepted, squeezing her shoulder as he passed. She watched them enter the room and close the door behind them, before she turned back to see Adrien smiling warmly down at her. He seemed about to say something when the sound of their friends’ bedroom door opening drew their attention. Alya stalked towards them.

She grabbed a fistful of Adrien’s shirt and pulled him down to eye level. Glaring at him, she said, “Don’t fuck this up, Agreste, or your kneecaps will pay the price.” She flashed him a predatory smile and returned to her room.

“Uh, um. Huh.” Adrien stood wide-eyed against the open bedroom door. Marinette straightened out his shirt when she passed him.

“Sorry about that,” she murmured, “Alya can be a bit... dramatic sometimes.”

Passing a carved birch door that she assumed lead to the bathroom, Marinette stepped into the bedroom proper. A king-sized bed sat against the wall, opposite a glass door that led onto a small balcony. Nightstands sat on both sides of the bed, each with a lamp seated upon them. The one closest to her had a remote, presumably for the wide screen TV near the glass door. On the other end of the glass door, nearest to them, was a recliner. All the fabrics in the room had the same light grey color of all the other furniture. 

“That was really nice of you, Marinette. I know I’m the last person you want to be sharing a room with right now.” He had just placed his bags down, and was pulling out clothes to put in the drawers in his nightstand. 

“Self deprecation isn't helping your case and it's not making this any easier. Now get into bed before I start chucking pillows.” Marinette cursed herself for saying the words before she’d thought them through, but at least in the awkward silence she had the pleasure of watching Adrien’s entire face break out in a blush. 

Clearing his throat as she pulled out her pajamas. “A-are you sure? I can take the recliner or sleep on the floor if you’d-”

“Adrien. We’ve already slept together before. Twice, actually. What’s any different now?”

He had a pained look on his face as he fidgeted with his hands. “I…” He sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.” 

“Good. Glad we got that settled.” She stepped into the bathroom. Courage spent, she sank down to the floor once the door was closed. Her stomach was simultaneous filled with butterflies and tied in knots. Tikki flew out of her bag to place a comforting hand on her cheek. 

With a grateful smile to her kwami, she stood and got ready for bed.

\---------------------------------------------------

Marinette had drifted into a deep slumber, slowly inching towards the only other source of warmth in the bed. At the same time, an unconscious Adrien was slowly moving his hand to connect with his companion’s, drawn towards her inexorably. Both were huddled facing the other, an expression of quiet serenity on each of their faces.

Tikki pulled away from the display and rushed out onto the balcony, where her partner of time immemorial waited, arms crossed and a displeased look on his face.

“Sugarcube, we have to do something about this.”

“First, I told you not to call me sugarcube,” she corrected with a glare. “Second, we can’t do anything without accidentally revealing their identities.”

“Oh, we definitely shouldn’t do that.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. Plagg was rarely so sensible.

“We should _purposefully_ reveal their identities.”

 _Why did I get my hopes up?_ “Plagg. We can’t do that. You know this.”

“We have to! They’re making themselves miserable!”

Her antennae twitched. She couldn’t argue with that, but… “I’m sure they’ll be able to fix this on their own.”

“Really, sugarcube? Your chosen doesn’t look like she’s ready to stop being miserable yet.”

“He broke her heart!”

“Yeah, and immediately went to fix it! Besides, he would have been fine if Trixx’s kid would stop goading him towards Ladybug.”

“What?”

Plagg drawled, “Rena insists he should go after Ladybug.”

Groaning, Tikki stared at the ground. “This is ridiculous.”

“Oh yeah, you know who Trixx is guiding, don’t you? I’d bet my entire camembert supply it’s Alya. Which means Trixx is probably around here somewhere too.”

“Plagg. We aren’t revealing _anyone’s_ identities.”

“But-”

“That’s final.” She saw him about to argue and placed a hand over his mouth. “Listen - you’ll see them interacting with each other all day tomorrow, and then you’ll see that everything will be fine. Okay?”

He rolled his eyes but nodded. They entered the cabin once again, and Plagg pointed towards the rafters. “Care to share a hiding spot?”

“You’ve been spending too much time with humans. We don’t _need_ to sleep, you know.”

“Yeah, but the humans are onto something there. Very relaxing.” He nudged her. “Especially when you’ve got someone to share the space with.”

With a sigh and a smile, they found a hidden corner in the rafters, drifting off to sleep latched onto each other.

\---------------------------------------------------

“Do you really think they’ll be alright?” 

Alya looked up at the concerned expression on her boyfriend, who was leaning on his pool cue. Her face was hovering above the green felt of the pool table, and she was a moment away from extending her lead even further. Finishing her move, she straightened up as Nino took his turn.

“Well, it _was_ her idea to switch rooms in the first place. But that doesn’t mean much since that girl can be too self-sacrificing for her own good.” She waited for the cacophony of the balls in motion to pass before continuing. “Either way, it’s sink or swim time for them.”

“Are you sure we can’t do anything? It kills me to see my bro like this.”

“It hasn’t exactly been fun for me either, babe. Even if she is keeping her feelings close to her chest this time, it isn’t hard to see how much she’s struggling with all this.” A mirthless smirk graced her face as yet another ball was sunk. “Anyway, I’m sure. This is something they need to handle on their own. Once they’re together, we can’t be fixing all their problems.

He adjusted his hat, frowning. “Yeah… I guess.” She grimaced as he got two balls in one shot. “Where were we going today?”

“Sunshine said something about a frozen waterfall and climbing. I have my doubts.”

Shaking his head, he sighed. “Well, at least we can look forward to the hot springs after it.”

“There is that. What time are we leaving?”

“Noon, so…” His eyes glanced over the clock on the wall. “In an hour. Do you think they’re still asleep?”

“Well, they weren’t up at nine when we got up. And they weren’t up when we checked an hour ago.” 

“We should go wake them up then, right?” He moved to place his pool cue back on the rack.

“Woah there, cappy. Neither of us is leaving this until the game is done.”

“If that’s what you want.” Turning back to the table, he took extra time lining up his shot, which was starting to aggravate Alya. _Wasn’t he the one that wanted to rush off?_ When he finally struck, the entire table erupted into motion. When the action settled, all of his balls had been sunk. He wore a self-satisfied smirk as he put his cue away. 

“Why the hell weren’t you playing like that before?!”

“Well, I do like our time together…”

She smacked him on the arm as she passed him, equal parts annoyed and impressed.

\---------------------------------------------------

Adrien waved as his bodyguard drove the short distance back to the resort. All four of them were bundled up, but Marinette was especially well-covered, to the point where just about the only thing he could see of her was her brilliant blue eyes. When she spoke, her voice was muffled by the scarf wrapped around her lower face.

“How is this going to work?” He smiled as he passed her, leading the way to the building ahead of them.

“We go in here and get some guides who take us on a small hike up the mountain. There, we find some waterfalls to climb that match our skill level. Easy!” 

“‘Guides’?” Alya gave him a skeptical look. 

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, despite the difficulty in doing so with both his gloves and the scarf. “Well, a guide can only lead a max of three people. So we’ll be splitting up into groups of two.”

“...And since you and Marinette are the best climbers, you’ll be paired up.” 

“Yes.” He looked at Marinette, blushing at the memory of their awakening this morning. They were both surprised at waking up cuddled against each other, but Adrien hadn’t been able to get a grasp on what she felt about it. “U-unless you wanted to split up? Cause that’s fine if you do!”

“It’s fine. We’re fine. I’m up for a challenge today anyway.”

They reached the front desk. Without many other people around, they got their guides fairly quickly. Alya waved to them as they were lead away by a woman named Aimee. Adrien turned back to face the back of their guide, a weary-looking man who had introduced himself as Omero. 

Omero stopped at an intersection in the trail, reading over a notepad. “You two say that you are experienced climbers?”

With Marinette’s voice still muffled, Adrien answered for them both. “Yes, that’s right.”

Scoffing, Omero muttered, “We’ll see about that.” More loudly, he continued. “There should be a fitting waterfall in this direction.”

An hour later, they stood before a glimmering cliff of ice. Surreptitiously watching Marinette, he saw her eyes widen and a gentle, awed gasp escape her. 

Sliding next to her, he asked, “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” 

He frowned. It had been like this for the entire hike, keeping her responses short and clipped. Despite his hopes, Marinette was still avoiding holding a conversation with him. 

Instead of letting his mind dwell on it, he watched Omero lay the line that they would be following up the frozen waterfall. 

\---------------------------------------------------

Alya spotted their friends first and waved them over. Once they were closer, she took in the nuances of their appearance. Marinette didn’t seem any worse for wear, but then again Alya couldn’t see much of her best friend. Adrien, however, was an open book, wearing his glumness openly. 

“So… how’d it go, you two?”

Adrien crossed his arms and grimaced. Once it became clear that he wouldn’t be responding, Marinette answered, “Adrien kept joking around, which got him yelled at by the guide. Otherwise, everything was fine. It was pretty and a nice workout. How about you?”

Nino finger gunned and replied, “I only messed up a little, but I made it to the top!”

A small smile broke through Adrien’s pouting. “Hey, that’s awesome, bro! Good job!”

“Also, everything hurts, so I’m going to want to get back to the cabin pronto.”

They shared a laugh, and the conversation remained light as they waited for Francis to pick them up.

\---------------------------------------------------

Marinette made her way all the way back down the stairs with a bag containing her swimsuit. Alya and Nino had already moved theirs into the changing room, apparently with all the time they had to spare while Marinette and Adrien were- She stopped herself before she could mentally say “cuddling.” 

Her plan was not going well. At least partially because Adrien seemed to have made it his personal quest to be as much of a sweetie as possible. It was endearing, but she knew it was just because he was trying to make it up to her. While nice of him, it was also… confusing, especially given her burgeoning feelings for Chat Noir. Adrien had made it clear that he only saw her as a friend, and she would do her best to move on from him. 

_Chat Noir… hopefully he will be okay, alone with Truesight. He was always reckless, but if I’m not there, will he reign it in? Or will he get himself hurt, and I won’t be able to fix it?_ She sighed. Now, more than ever, she just wanted to joke around with her silly kitty. 

A voice whispered to her from within the folds of her scarf. “How are you feeling Marinette?” 

In a murmur of her own, she responded, “Honestly? Really worn out. Adrien is unintentionally make it hard to get over him.”

“At least now you can let the tension out in the spring, right?”

“God, Tikki, you don’t know the half of it. I’ve been looking forward to this all day.”

Reaching the basement, she pushed open the door, a rush of warm, moist air billowing past her. Once inside, she saw Nino and Alya sprawled out in the water. Nino waved at her as she passed. 

Before she entered the changing room, she shot a curious glance their way. “Where’s Adrien?”

“Dude is still in getting changed. Don’t know why it’s taking him so long, but no way am I getting out of here to check. Waaay too comfy.” To illustrate his point, he sunk down into the water till everything under his chin was submerged.

Shaking her head with a smile, she slipped into the changing room and got undressed.

\---------------------------------------------------

“Today was a disaster, Plagg! She’s barely spoken more than a sentence to me all day.”

“Yeah, it sure was a mess.” His floating companion took a big gulp of cheese. He noticed Adrien’s glare. “What? I’m not Tikki - I don’t sugarcoat things.”

Adrien frowned at the reminder of Ladybug’s kwami. _While he was out here with his friends, Ladybug was back in Paris without him. I left a message for her, but did she get it? With Rena and Truesight helping out, will she even notice I’m missing? Maybe this was all a huge error and I’d have been better off going after Ladybug. At least then Marinette wouldn’t have gotten hurt._

“Kid, I recognize that look. Whatever it is, stop it. This vacation has only just begun.”

“I’m trying, Plagg, but… I really hurt her and now she doesn’t want anything to do with me, least of all romantically.”

“Is she worth it?”

“W-what? Of course she is! But-”

“Then you don’t have much choice, do you?” As he finished he cheese, he told him through a full mouth, “You better head out there now, if you don’t want them thinking you slipped and broke your neck in here or something.”

Unable to refute Plagg, he stepped into the spring area. At the same time, Marinette emerged from the women’s changing room. The noise of the door closing drew his attention towards her.

She was wearing a black bikini with lime green trim. While he was fully aware that she was in shape, he hadn’t realize just how in shape she was until he saw her well-toned muscles laid bare. _God, she could probably kick my ass._ With a great effort of will, he pulled his gaze up to her face. In doing so, he noticed that she had tied her midnight black hair up into a messy bun. When he at last settled on her eyes, he realized that while he had managed to stop staring at her, she was very much still ogling him. She was even biting her lower lip as a light blush reddened her cheeks. 

If it was anyone else, he might have struck a pose. Hell, if he was safe behind the Chat Noir mask he definitely would have. But something about fierce, witty, creative _Marinette_ staring at _Adrien_ made his heart flutter, and all he could do was laugh nervously and wave.

This seemed to have been the wrong thing to do. Bluebell eyes suddenly met his. He was sure that if he were to touch her face right now, it was be hotter than the waters they were about to set foot in, if the brilliant scarlet flaring at her cheeks were any indication. 

“Um, nice, v-very good.” She gave him a thumbs up, smiling uncertainly before her words seemed to catch up with her and she quickly turned away, walking into the pool.

Stunned, Adrien followed after her.

\---------------------------------------------------

For the rest of their supposed relaxation time, Marinette would do her best to avoid looking at the sunshine prince - _God did that name suit him_ \- only to inevitably return to staring. 

It was hard not to. Whatever their feelings about the strict regime required of him to maintain his modeling career, she couldn’t deny that they showed benefits. She kept running her eyes over the muscle in his arms and legs, surely gained from the years of fencing. Beyond simply being fit his skin was sun kissed and flawless, as if he just stepped off of an Italian beach. 

And the only thing covering him was Ladybug print trunks. It was physically painful that he was wearing her colors. It almost felt as if she had marked him as her own.

With a groan, she sunk deeper into the pool, a mess of confused emotions and warring desires. 

\---------------------------------------------------

“Did you see them today?” Plagg was floating in front of her, tail flicking irritatedly behind him. 

Defeatedly, she replied, “Yes, stinky sock. I saw them.”

“This isn’t going to end well unless we do something.”

She frowned as she remembered the jumbled mess of feelings that she knew Marinette was trying to wade through. _And from what Plagg has told me, Adrien is just as bad._ “As much as I want to disagree… you’re right.”

“So you know what we gotta do?”

Eyes flaring in what she hoped was determination, Tikki nodded. “Yes. The time has come for Ladybug and Chat Noir to reveal their identities to each other.”

Rubbing his paws together excitedly, Plagg muttered, “Finally. I’ve been waiting for this.” More loudly, he added, “We’ll have to be sneaky about this.”

“What? Why?”

“One, because they should gradually build up to it.”

Tikki nodded. It made sense, in a way. Jumping out and telling them might result in panic, after all. “What was point two?”

“Because it will be funny to mess with them.”

“Plagg! Don’t be mean!”

“Oh, sugarcube! We only get to do this once per set, if it ever happens at all! We _have_ to have fun with it.”

She groaned. Plagg clearly wasn’t going to be swayed, he loved mischief far too much to let this opportunity slide. If she went along with it, she might at least be able to curb his excesses. “Okay, fine. What did you have in mind?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D
> 
> We're getting close to the big moment, friends!


	21. Haunted by You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plagg and Tikki's plot goes into motion in the background. Days pass while our heroes are on vacation, Truesight doing his best to protect Paris on his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also! This is now my new longest chapter at over _12,000 words_!
> 
> Enjoy!

_“Morgan, hm? That’s a pretty name.” The old man took a seat opposite her, passing a bowl of hot stew to the young interloper. He watched her carefully through pale blue eyes, ignoring his own bowl for the moment._

_It had been a long walk this deep into the woods. Her aunt had warned her that wild animals and barbarians roamed the ancient forest. Yet the most threatening of all was the old hermit who lurked there, and who even the raiders would avoid. Rumors claimed many things, but all agreed that he wielded strange magic and communed with dark spirits. But Morgan hadn’t been scared of those stories, like her aunt had intended. Instead, she was intrigued._

_Seated on the chair, her feet couldn’t reach the floor and they swung idly as she watched the owner of the hut. “Who are you? Where do you come from? Why do you live in a smelly shack?”_

_“Unimportant, doesn’t matter, and I like it. People don’t bother me out here.” He gestured with his spoon to the bowl in front of her. “Eat up. You’ll need your strength for the journey back.”_

_She poked at the stew before continuing. “Auntie says you eat children.”_

_Raising his eyebrow, he shook his head, causing the faded red beard to sway back and forth. “Only the naughty ones who ask too many questions.”_

_Scrunching her forehead up, she weighed whether she wanted answers more than she was afraid of being eaten. Eventually, curiosity won out. “Do you really know real magic?”_

_“Mhmm.”_

_Looking up at him with hopeful eyes, she asked, “Can you teach me?”_

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien swam back to consciousness, grateful for the lack of horror in this dream. Before he opened his eyes, he attempted to shift the electric blanket wrapped around him. As he did so, several thoughts pushed their way through the thick fog in his mind, demanding to be recognized.

First, he was not at home. Second, his electric blanket was still in the closet back at home, as it was covered in spots and therefore needed to be out of his line of sight. Last, his blanket did not squirm on it’s own and while cozy it definitely wasn’t this soft nor did it have a heartbeat. Blinking his eyes open, he looked down at the mop of black hair just under his chin. He spared a glance for the wall of blankets and pillows that was meant to prevent this from happening. A sad ruin stood there, Marinette sprawled out over the remainder as she wrapped him in a tight hug. As he stirs, she tightens her grip on him, prompting him to stop moving.

At this point, he wasn’t sure if he felt frustrated or satisfied. In either case, he knew that Marinette wouldn’t enjoy waking up pressed against him and started to slowly extract himself from her grip. The process was slow, but eventually he got her to turn over, giving him enough space to roll onto the floor as quietly as possible. 

Once he was certain he was in the clear, he shuffled out to the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed. As the warm water hit him, his thoughts drifted back to Marinette. She clearly cared for him - he realized both of them were clingy, but he doubted she’d have gotten that entangled with Alya. Did he mess up even worse than he realized? What more could he possibly do to make it up to her?

“You’re wasting water.”

Adrien jolted out of his thoughts, and attempted to cover up before realizing who the voice was coming from. A snickering outside the reach of the flowing water guided him to Plagg’s floating form. 

“I like taking showers,” Adrien grumbled.

“Whatever, kid. I don’t understand the appeal of getting wet. Anyway, good luck with pigtails. I’m going to be exploring today.”

“Wait, what? You’re leaving me?”

“Don’t be so dramatic. I’ll still be in the cabin, and it’s not like you need to transform.”

“Okay… I guess. Just be careful, okay? I don’t want you getting caught by anyone.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that, kid.” 

Before Adrien could ask what he meant, Plagg had phased through the wall. Shrugging away the eccentricities of his kwami, he finished up his shower and got dressed. Once he was out of the bathroom, he poked his head around to corner to check on Marinette, who was now sprawled out over the entire bed, drooling into her pillow. He watched her for a few moments, caught up in her beauty, before he pulled himself away and headed downstairs. 

Once there, he realized he was the first one awake. With a grin, he entered the kitchen, determined to have breakfast ready for his friends once they were up.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Her weapon struck down another of the gibbering monsters, setting the example for her sisters in arms against the abominations. While her warriors bore heavy shields and spears against the enemy, she stood apart from their ranks. Her bright red, spotted armor made a shield unnecessary. And what use was a spear when the twine of her yoyo was infinite and became a whirling maelstrom of pain in her hands?_

_Something called out within her, as if a missing part of her was within reach. Looking around, she saw a pair of fighters across the battlefield, fighting side by side._

_She was familiar with the taller of the two - his silvery armor was a stark contrast to the bronze her Amazons and the lesser warriors wore, and his weapon would be uncommon simply for being a sword, let alone the crystalline material that composed it. Her mother had summoned this fighter and he had grown in prominence in the years since. Chiron had earned the respect of the Amazons._

_But it was the young man beside him that drew her eyes. The bronze armor was clearly divine in origin, and the lion’s pelt that hung from his shoulders marked him as a fearsome warrior. Then again, it was not his gear that made his skill at arms obvious, but the way his club battered aside even the strongest monsters on the field. Despite herself, she felt something emerge unbidden from within her._

_To the best of her effort, she clamped down on the feeling. It would be unwise for the queen of the Amazons to fall in love with a mere man._

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grunting in protest, Marinette reached out to where the Warmth had once been. There, she found only the faded afterglow of what once was a glorious mass of Warmth. Outrage caused her to awaken to solve this problem. This lead her to the dual discoveries that she was laying on top of most of the blankets rather than under them, and that she was sprawled out over the bed. 

Her face glowed red as she scrambled to sit on her knees, worriedly looking at Adrien’s side of the bed. Which she was just now realizing was where she had been groping for warmth. At first, she felt relieved that he wasn’t there, and let out a grateful sigh. But the gears in her head chugged onward, and it finally hit that Adrien wasn’t there. So where was he? Now reasonably awake, she clambered out of bed, and tentatively knocked on the bathroom door. Receiving no response, she shrugged and stepped in.

“He went downstairs.” Marinette jumped, spinning around to face Tikki. For her part, she smiled sheepishly at her chosen. “Sorry, Marinette! I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Don’t worry, Tikki, I’m just jumpy is all.” Biting her lower lip, she asked, “...Was last night any better than the night before?”

Her wince and long pause was an answer by itself. Marinette groaned in exasperation. 

“If it makes you feel any better, it wasn’t as…” Tikki looked into the middle distance, searching for the right word, “...intensive… as the first night. The wall certainly helped. A little.”

“This is a disaster, Tikki!”

“Don’t worry, Marinette! I know things will get better! You just have to trust me, okay?”

The confidence in her kwami’s words did bring Marinette some comfort, and although she wasn’t completely convinced, she nodded. “Okay. But only because I trust you.” A thought occurred to her as she pulled her sweater over her head. “Wait, so what is Adrien doing now?”

“I think he went to the kitchen. Maybe he is making breakfast?”

“...Not that I don’t trust Adrien, but I doubt he has a lot of cooking experience. I’d better go check on him.”

Smiling, Tikki replied, “If you say so.” As Marinette opened the door to the bathroom, she added, “Oh! And I’m going to be exploring the cabin today, if you don’t mind?”

“Uh, sure, I suppose. If that makes you happy.” With a feather-light, tiny kiss on Marinette’s cheek in parting, Tikki flew through the walls, leaving Marinette alone with her thoughts. Shaking off the uncertainty, she walked out her room.

The moment she stepped foot on the staircase, she could already catch the scent of something burnt. She peered into the kitchen to see a dejected Adrien wearing a ‘kiss the chef’ apron and a chef’s hat over his normal clothes. Where he found these things, she was sure would remain a mystery. At the moment, he was busy pouting at a pan filled with burnt… something? Whatever it was, it was a sizzling black mess now. He was so distraught over it, that he didn’t notice her arrival until she stepped into the room and placed a hand on his shoulder.

He stiffened under her hand, his failure completely forgotten in favor of attempting to adjust to her arrival. A gamut of emotions passed over his face, and he seemed uncertain about what to do. After a few moments of awkward silence, he smiled nervously at her, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Sorry. I… ruined breakfast.” He forced out a laugh. “It seems like I do that a lot.”

“Don’t worry about it, Adrien. Everyone makes mistakes.” She removed her hand and looked around the room at the supplies they had on hand. “If you’re feeling up to it, we can fry up some toast.” 

“But what about Alya and Nino?”

“They are big kids, and can make their own breakfast if they want some. Now c’mon, I’m getting hungry.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was past noon when they managed to reach the ski resort proper. Getting everybody awake, active, and full was a hassle, but Adrien was just glad that he managed to get them out the door. The cabin was nostalgic, but he hadn’t counted on the happy memories depressing him. Perhaps in hindsight, reminding himself of what he had lost wasn’t the most well thought out of his plans. Though he wouldn’t admit this to his friends, he was doing his best to get out of the cabin as much as possible. 

Which is why they were now standing in front of a movie theater in the ski resort. Stepping inside, Adrien lowered the hood of his jacket and closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of buttered popcorn. 

“Woah, dude! They have an arcade here!”

Opening his eyes to see where Nino was pointing, a grin spread across Adrien’s face as he saw the arcade. “That’s great! We can go there between screenings! But we still need to decide on which movie we’re going to see first.”

Having said this, their attention was drawn to the board with the, admittedly meagre, selection of movies. 

“Blondie, we could’ve just stayed at the cabin. There is a heck of a better selection of movies there, and I could’ve stayed in yoga pants.”

Nino leaned over to whisper to Adrien, “You have deprived me of a _treasure_ , dude.”

Adrien bit his lip as he scrambled for a good excuse. ‘Being sad cause the house reminds me my father is a dick’ isn’t something he’d like to discuss. At best, he’d get get a bunch of eye rolls about melodrama. At worst, he’d make them all sad and bring down the mood. He’d honestly rather just have the mocking.

“Well, uh, we can’t spend all our time couped up in the cabin. It’d get dull after a while.”

Just before Alya was gearing up for what he was sure was a scathing response, Marinette cut in. “He’s right. Plus, we get to hang out at the arcade, and get some dinner from a restaurant.” She flashed an apologetic smile to Adrien. “Not that Francis’s cooking isn’t amazing, it’s just the restaurant experience is nice.”

He nodded gratefully to Marinette, but smiling smugly at Alya. “See? Plenty of reasons to go out.” He bravely pressed on to avoid giving Alya room to verbally lash him. “So, what do we want to watch?”

Once again, they looked at the board of movie titles, and just as he reached the bottom of the list he heard Nino gasp in excitement behind him. Simultaneously, Adrien, Marinette, and Alya said ‘no.’ Adrien continued to have no desire to watch Blood Nationator IV: Bonebreaker’s Lament. He was honestly surprised that any theater was still showing it. 

Giggling, Alya patted Nino on the back. “Sorry, babe, you’ve been outvoted.” She turned her attention back to the board. “But even so, our other options aren’t that great either.”

“The only one I’ve even heard of is ‘Venice Reflections.’ Apparently, it’s a really artsy film with a complex romance plot.” Marinette trailed off, frowning.

Alya seemed much more enthused about it. “Sold! Let’s get to it!”

“Hold up. You got to choose first last night. Why do you get to choose first now?”

“Life isn’t fair, Lahiffe. And at least I’m making decisions. Now get moving before we miss it!”

A brief stop for some concession food later and they were getting settled in to watch one of the most pretentiously named movies Adrien had ever had the misfortune to hear of. Unfortunately, since they arrived so late, they couldn’t all sit next to each other, leaving Marinette and Alya in front of Nino and Adrien. Just as the lights went out, Adrien saw Alya sneak some popcorn into her purse. Before he could dwell on it too much, the movie started in earnest.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once the movie ended, Marinette found herself surprisingly disappointed that there wasn’t more. This wasn’t to say that she thought the film was good - quite the opposite, it was every bit as terrible as she was expecting. But it’s saving grace, in her eyes, was the costume design and stunning visuals. While the writing was lackluster, there was real passion shown in her domain. Now she eager to get home and use some of this creative energy, but this was only the start of their day.

Returning to the present, she took stock of what her friends were doing. At her side, Alya was dabbing at tears and sniffling. The ending sequence had been heartwarmingly emotional, her greatest weakness. With a pat on her back, Marinette turned around in her seat to look at the boys. She put her hand to her mouth to suppress the giggles when she saw Nino asleep on Adrien’s shoulder, with the model in question leaning back in his seat with his head propped up against his fist, glaring at the credits rolling by on the screen.

He caught her looking at him and hid his annoyance under a pleasant mask. “So, Marinette. How’d you like the… ‘movie’.” He frowned in distaste as he put air quotes around the word, as if it barely deserved to be called that.

She shrugged. “A harmless sort of bad, but the clothes were cool. It’s given me some inspiration for my own designs.”

“Well, at least something beautiful can come out of this.” Shaking Nino to wake him up, he grumbled, “And honestly, they were both awful.”

Alya’s head whipped around to face him, tears mostly dried. “How can you be so… _dismissive_ to poor Brigette’s suffering?!”

Gesturing in irritation as his best friend stretched, Adrien responded, “They didn’t need to suffer! It was all just a silly misunderstanding. If they had just _talked_ -”

“Talked?! He broke her heart!” They were stumbling into the light of the main lobby. It would be a couple hours before the next screening, and the arcade was awaiting them.

“They _both_ had secrets that made heartbreak the only outcome. But it got dragged out for way longer than it needed too, which just made them both miserable.”

“Whatever you say, blondie.” She pulled Nino’s arm towards a set of pool tables. “We have a rematch.” She called out to Adrien and Marinette as she walked away. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do you two.”

Marinette huffed, aggravated that she was leaving her alone in awkward silence with Adrien. But then, she felt herself being pulled along by her wrist. 

“Adrien? Where are you taking me?”

“I caught a glimpse of it when we were coming in.” He came to a sudden stop, Marinette stepping forward to stand behind him. Bright, glowing letters atop the arcade cabinet read ‘Ultimate Mecha Strike IV.’ “What do you say, Marinette?” He leaned forward with a cocky grin that wouldn’t have looked out of place on her partner. “Or are you too scared since you haven’t had the chance to play this new one?”

Determination flooded her, washing away any doubt or confusion. Walking up to the cabinet, she leaned against it and turned back to him. “Well, pretty boy? Are you going to step up? Or were you all talk?”

A blush crept onto his face, but the grin returned after a moment’s hesitation. Wordlessly, he took up the player two spot.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ha _ha_! In your _face_!” Marinette launched into her post-victory dance, and Adrien simply couldn’t be upset at his loss. While his record against her hadn’t improved - she was definitely winning way more matches than she was losing - her adorable performances after some hard-fought ones made it hard to be mad, despite her trash talking.

Besides, he’d take the losses if it meant she was acting like herself around him again. This was the most energetic she’d been since Valentine’s. A twinge of sadness weakened his smile, but he pushed it aside as he watched Marinette finish.

He held up his hands in mock surrender. “Alright, you beat me. You are indeed the best Mecha Strike player of us…”

“You better believe it!”

“...But I’m still the best Mario Kart racer.”

It was a testament to his courage that he didn’t immediately wilt under the look she gave him. Instead, she began scanning the area. Locked onto her target, she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards a Mario Kart cabinet.

Before he could put up any argument - _Not that I intended to_ \- they had reached the new game, and were getting seated for their match. Serious-faced, Marinette spoke to him while facing the screen. “Ready to give up your title?”

“I think you’ll find I’m more than your match here. I’ve got tons of hours in this game, and I’ve beaten the bots at the highest difficulties.”

She snorted. “Bots? Seriously? Couldn’t find any people to fight against?”

They were still selecting tracks and racers, so Adrien was free to rub the back of his neck. “Actually, yeah. Even now I don’t get many people over to my house, Nino doesn’t have the game at his place, and Father doesn’t like me playing games online. He says it disrupts his work.”

He caught her frowning out of the corner of his eye. “Yeah, well, now you’re getting the opportunity to lose to a real person.” Despite the taunt, the energy behind it just wasn’t there. He cursed himself for ruining the mood _again_ with his personal stuff.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to get depressing again. I-”

She silenced him with a glare. “Don’t apologize. I care for my friends, and I don’t want you hiding things for my sake, okay?”

Despite being comforted by her assurances, he couldn’t deny feeling a pang in his chest about ‘friends’. He’d suppressed his feelings about her for too long, and he wanted to be much more than friends. His first lost drew him back into the moment. 

While they still taunted each other in this game, it had less energy behind it, and emotions were more subdued. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eventually, Nino and Alya went looking for them, pulling them out of the arcade reluctantly. The Mario Kart duel had ended inconclusively. Despite Adrien’s lack of human opponents, he proved more than capable of facing down Marinette to a draw.

Once again they stood before the board of movies. Alya spoke aloud as she read the titles to herself. “I guess since I chose the last movie I can leave the next one up to you three and-oh no.” 

She had just reached the bottom of the board.

Where an animated movie was listed.

One of those cutesy movies that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a Disney line up. Reluctantly, she turned to Marinette and Adrien, who looked like excited children. Nino was looking back at her in exasperation.

“You couldn’t have waited to make that deal until after you read the list?”

Immediately, Adrien added, “No take backs!,” as he rushed forward to concessions for the second time that day. 

“Okay, girl, you can have your cheesy kids’ movie, but I’ll find a way to get some payback of my own.” She grinned. “Just to give you a heads up.”

A groan escaped Marinette as she lead them to their spot in the theater. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alya was pinching the bridge of her nose as they sat in the sparsely populated restaurant, Adrien and Marinette finally quieting down once the menus had been passed to them. Not that she wasn’t glad to see them interacting like normal human beings, of course. But she hadn’t wanted to go into that movie in the first place, and them singing the soundtrack to it extended her suffering. She adjusted her previous sentiment. _Normal_ people don’t perform impromptu duets in public. 

They placed their orders and a light conversation picked up. Without songs to help bridge the gap between them, Adrien and Marinette returned to a slightly awkward state, unsure of how to act with each other. It almost made Alya want to pull out her hair in frustration, but she was committed. They had to let the kids figure themselves out, even if it was becoming physically painful to watch them dance around the issue. 

Before the situation could devolve further, their food arrived. As the restaurant specialized in burgers, each of them had ordered at least one. 

Just before digging into his two, Nino asked, “Do we have any plans for when we get back?”

Adrien worked at his side salad as he replied, “Nope! We can just kinda chill out if that’s what you want to do.”

The scent of pain and suffering reached Alya. Scrunching up her nose at the culprit - Marinette’s extra spicy burger - she asked, “How do you even _smell_ those without tearing up? Let alone eat one.”

Shrugging, her friend simply replied, “Lots of practice.”

“Anyway, there is plenty of stuff we can do once we get back. Like-”

Nino waved off the incoming list. “Dude, we know. We got the grand tour, remember? I think I’m just gonna work on some playlists.”

“Yeah, and I’ve been falling behind on the Ladyblog.”

Turning to his left, Adrien asked, “What about you, Mari?”

She shook her head, hurriedly chewing. After a large gulp, she replied, “Can’t. I’m going to sit out on the balcony and sketch. I got a ton of cool ideas from Venice Reflections.”

“See, Agreste? I told you that movie was good!”

“I didn’t say it was _good_. It inspired me sure, but-” Alya silenced her with a glare. 

“Alya, babe, it wasn’t that special.”

“You fell asleep part way through it!”

“Which should tell you how bad it was.”

“It might, if you didn’t fall asleep during any movie that wasn’t bursting with action!”

The argument - with Alya alone fighting off three brutish thugs who knew nothing of true love or culture - outlasted their meal, and got them to the doorstep of the cabin, ending only once they scattered to the corners of the cabin. Alya briefly caught sight of Adrien’s frown as he stood at the threshold of his bedroom. She didn’t pay it much mind. _I guess blondie’s as frustrated on the Adrienette front as I am. Poor kid._

She pulled out her laptop, sprawled out on her shared bed, and got to work writing speculation pieces. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marinette wasn’t sure how much time had passed with her sitting, all bundled up, on the balcony. The sun had set hours ago in any case, leaving her with the light of the waxing moon and the yellow glow from the indoor lights to sketch by. Not ideal, but that was the price for some space. She tilted her head back, closing her eyes as she listened to the wind ambling its way across the mountain. They were far enough from the resort that they didn’t have the constant noise to deal with - which she was certain had been an intentional choice on Gabriel Agreste’s part when building this place. It was strange to her. She had grown up with the constant background noise of the city, so the calm and silence here was almost… eerie. 

“Hey, Marinette!” 

The tiny voice startled her from her reverie. In her haste to escape, she tumbled out of the wooden lounge chair and onto the snow-dusted floor of the balcony. She pouted up as her kwami’s light giggling filled the air. 

“I’m sorry, Marinette. I didn’t mean to scare you. Again.” Despite her apology, she was still smiling, fighting down laughter as she watched her chosen clamber back into the seat, rewrapping herself in blankets. 

“It’s not your fault,” Marinette began, “I was just thinking about the stillness of the world out here. I wonder how things are back home right now.”

Hesitantly, Tikki asked, “...Were you thinking about Chat Noir?”

Feeling an incriminating blush creep onto her face, Marinette sputtered, “N-no! Honest! I’m sure they are doing fine, and well, if they weren’t Truesight could call me, right?”

“I suppose so,” Tikki said with a strange twinkle in her eyes, “and Truesight will do his best to keep things in order in Paris.”

“Do you think Truesight was acting… strangely when we left?”

“He _did_ seem to realize you were going on vacation before you even brought it up.”

“Yeah…” Marinette bit her lower lip. “I bet Alya told Truesight, at least.” Her eyes widened. “Do you think Chat Noir went on vacation too?!”

“It’s possible. You two are the same age, so you’d have the same break times.” Tikki paused, watching Marinette’s face carefully before asking, “Have you been thinking about his civilian identity?”

A strangled sound emerged from Marinette’s throat as the two responses that rushed to her mind - ‘Yes, I need to know who I’m falling for’ and ‘No, I shouldn’t, we need the layer of protection only secrets can give’ - collided, and nothing succeeded in leaving her mouth.

“It’s okay, Marinette,” she said soothingly, “It’s natural to want to know. Especially with everything going on now.”

“I guess. But it’s our duty to keep our identities a secret.”

“That’s-”

“Don’t worry, Tikki! I won’t let you down!” 

Tikki sighed and gave her a tired half-smile. “Thank you, Marinette.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien leaned against the balcony just outside his shared bedroom with Marinette, looking out at the snowy expanses of the mountain, and the way that the moonlight reflected against it. The plan had been to relax and make up with Marinette while he was here, but he was quickly realizing how much he didn’t like being idle here. It came as a shock to him that, when left to his own devices, he didn’t know what to do with himself. Sure, he can always watch anime or read manga, but… He thought of Nino, making music. Alya, researching and writing for the Ladyblog. Marinette, drawing designs and turning them into reality.

What did _he_ have?

A random assortment of skills meant to reflect well on him - or, better yet, his father. A modeling career he felt no passion for. _What do I want to do? What **can** I do?_

The scent gave Adrien some warning, so he wasn’t shocked when he heard Plagg’s voice sound out from behind him

“Boo! Did I scare you?!”

As deadpan as possible, Adrien replied, “Yup. Terrified.”

“Yeah, well, whatever,” Plagg grumbled, clearly upset that he didn’t get the reaction he wanted, “Anyway, I ever tell you that you have a type?”

Flustered, Adrien sputtered out a protest, “W-what? No I don’t!”

“Blue eyes and black hair definitely. Maybe pigtails too?” 

“I like Marinette and Ladybug because they are awesome, not because they are beautiful. I’m a model - I’m around beautiful people all the time.”

With a tiny shrug, the kwami replied, “Still, there is a pattern forming here, don’t you think? An attraction between awfully similar people.” Adrien groaned and turned away from him, only for Plagg to float right back in front of him. “I’m just saying. Crazy, isn’t it?”

Shaking his head, Adrien muttered, “And here I was, not wanting to be alone. If I had known this was the price of that wish…”

Plagg cackled. “Yeah, yeah. You love me, don’t deny it.”

The door slide open as he walked back into the warmth of the bedroom. Grabbing his iPad, he flopped onto the couch and watched some videos to get his mind off of things.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fu sipped at his cup of tea while watching television. Even though it was the middle of the day, he didn’t have any further appointments, leaving him free to get caught up on recent events. Just a quiet, peaceful…

His show cut to the serious face of Nadja Chamack. She seemed to be standing out in the streets of Paris. “Breaking news! An akuma has been spotted in the 13th arrondissement. Calling herself Major Anarchy, this villain riding a razor scooter has converted citizens into a rebellious horde through the use of her empowered paintball gun. While damage so far has been minor, citizens are encouraged to remain inside and wait for the miraculous heroes to stop the Major Anarchy.”

Paling, Fu stood and shuffled towards the secret passage. 

A worried Wayzz appeared in front of him. “Master! Do you think Alric will be able to stop the akuma on his own?”

“I don’t know. We must hope that he can, for all our sakes.” After all, even if he somehow managed to contact Marinette, Adrien, or Alya, they were eight hours or more away. Who knows what havoc Hawkmoth could unleash in that time?

Calling down the ladder, he was immediately rewarded with a fully-armored Truesight climbing up. Gruffly, he asked, “I assume that Hawkmoth has lured another poor soul?”

“Yes, but you must be careful!”

“No, I must be quick. Without the Ladybug cure, I have to do my best to reduce collateral damage.”

“Should we call in another hero?”

Making a dismissive noise, Truesight fastened his helmet down. “Nay. Wouldn’t know who to choose anyway.”

After confirming a location, the armored hero dashed out the door in the villain’s direction.

“I have a bad feeling about this, Wayzz.”

Smiling, the kwami replied, “Worry not, Master. I had nearly forgotten who it was we were placing our trust in.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Crouched behind an abandoned car, Nadja listened to the chaos ensue around her. Covering supervillain attacks hadn’t been what she intended to do when she pursued her journalism degree in university, but life was strange like that. She’d been tracking this akuma for a while now, doing her best to stay far enough away to not be targeted, but close enough to get good shots. It hadn’t been easy, since she was on foot and the villain was on a scooter, but she made it work. Hopefully, the updates would be able to keep people safe. 

She peered over the top of the car, only to see Major Anarchy looking back at her, an evil grin splitting her face. In a desperate whisper, she told her cameraman, “Run!”

The sound of the handlebar mounted paintball gun reached her, and she braced for impact. But nothing came. Being the intrepid journalist she was, she dared look over her shoulder, giving her a good look at the animal pelt cloak that her savior wore. 

Truesight was facing away from her, sword drawn and low to the ground. A splattering of paint marred the ground in front of him, and he slowly stalked towards the akuma victim. “This isn’t your best work, Hawkmoth. Surely not your wisest move, either.”

Motioning to her cameraman for him to start rolling, she continued to watch the events unfold. _Where was Ladybug and Chat Noir?_

“Hawkmoth is not here! I am Major Anarchy.”

“I’m not talking to you, little one. And while the villain is not here physically, I know Hawkmoth can hear me. Thus, I know that this warning will reach him: Hawkmoth, what happens in the next few days is solely on you. All the suffering that will happen rests squarely on your shoulders.”

A stylized outline of a butterfly flared to life around Major Anarchy’s eyes. A smile crept onto her face. “Forgotten by the others, old man?”

“My kids are taking a much needed break. Your wicked goals cannot be achieved, villain. Leave your thrall in peace.”

Major Anarchy cackled. “Maybe they’ll think twice when they see Truesight himself rampaging across Paris.” She angled her scooter around to face the hero, and Nadja was shocked to find that Truesight was striding confident forward. 

She shouted a warning, hoping that she wasn’t too late. “No! She’ll mind control you! Don’t get hit!”

A stream of paintballs rained into Truesight, whose advance halted under the onslaught. A pregnant moment passed, Nadja biting her lip and hoping that Truesight was bluffing when he claimed he was alone.

“It’ll take me ages to clean this now.” Irritation crept into his voice and he continued his advance, breaking into a charge as the akuma victim panickedly tried to turn her scooter around. But it was too late, and Truesight grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, throwing her onto the ground as he approached her scooter. Once it was in his hands, he took the paintball gun and snapped it on his knee. Just as the purple butterfly emerged, he swung with his sword one last time. It passed through the akuma, but instead of cutting it, an inky purple shadow was pulled out of it, quickly disappearing in the sunlight. 

He watched the now white butterfly flutter away into the distance, muttering to himself, “Bye bye little butterfly.”

Motioning to her cameraman, she took a few quick steps to reach where the hero was now helping the former akuma victim get to her feet. She spared a glance for the unfortunate girl, probably in her mid-teens, struggling to stand, legs trembling as if she had been laying in bed for a week.

As she got closer, she could hear what Truesight was whispering to her. “Steady there, lass. Hold onto me, let the magic runs its course. You’ll be fine, just stay strong for a moment longer. See? You’re already feeling better.”

Sensing an opportunity - the hero was unlikely to just leave the citizen behind while she was like this - Nadja stepped forward. “Nadja Chamack here! Don’t be bemused, it’s just the news! Truesight, what did you mean when you said your kids are taking a break?”

Despite the helmet covering his face, Nadja could feel his glare, which sent a barely perceptible shudder through her. He turned his head slightly, facing the camera. Gruffly, he asked, “Is that machine like the one used by the Ladyblogger? A device that records sights and sounds?” Despite the exasperation she felt, she nodded. “Know that Paris has not been left unguarded. Whatever rises up to threaten it shall be struck down.”

“What does that mean for those who suffer property damage during an akuma attack?” The former Major Anarchy had righted her scooter and had taken one look at Nadja before making a quick getaway. _That’s a shame. Interviewing akuma victims usually brings in plenty of viewers._

“They’ll have to grin and bear it for now. Perhaps pray that Hawkmoth has a sense of decency, as it would be no less than an act of the divines to bar him from his bastard ways.” Before she could get another question in, he had drawn his sword, holding it aloft as the sun’s rays struck it. With a sound like quickened thunder, he was gone.

“R-right. Anyway, there you have it, folks! Are the three superhero protectors of Paris missing? Will Truesight be enough? More at ten.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien slowly drifted back into consciousness smelling something that reminded him of strawberries and cookies. His eyes fluttered open, but this didn’t give him a clearer picture of things as his entire view was occupied by darkness. As his vision swam into focus, he realized it wasn’t so much _darkness_ (the early morning sunlight filtering in proved that) so much as blackness. Like the hair of a certain friend of his. 

With that realization, he realized he was curled up against Marinette’s back, and had his face buried in her hair. He recoiled as if burnt. She was well on her side of the bed, but it seemed that this time _he_ was the one to cross their pillow border. Not that she seemed to mind - even with his brief absence, she was scooting backwards. His smile was small but warm as he watched her unconsciously search for his warmth. 

Wrapping her back up in blankets to keep her happy, he slipped out of bed. After a refreshing shower and change of clothes, he went downstairs for breakfast. _Maybe someone else is awake too. I can’t really stay in my bedroom right now._

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the emptiness of the game room, all was silent between the sharp sound of pool balls connecting with one another. Alya had woken up before Nino and she knew that if he was left to his own devices, he’d stay asleep for a few hours more. Which gave her plenty of time to get some practice in. 

It wasn’t that she hated that he was better than her at the game. She just didn’t like that he could beat her so soundly, without even trying. And while she teased Marinette about being competitive, the truth was that reporters needed some fire in them to get anything important done. The truth won’t reveal itself, after all.

“It’s not just in the technique, you know.”

Alya tilted her head back to look up into the rafters, where her kwami was happily nibbling at some cotton candy. “What do you mean?”

“Technique is good, yeah, no doubt about it. But your boyfriend has a talent for anticipating where they will bounce. Where the hits land, and being in just the right place at the right time.”

“Sure, but you still need a good strike to get things going how you want it to. Besides,” she added as she returned to the game, “you can’t predict everything. Some stuff is going to be up to random chance.”

Trixx giggled. “I agree entirely. Take things as they are, then make ‘em work for us. That’s _our_ way.” He grinned down at her. “But his way seems to be working too. One of my friends would really get along with him.”

“Friends? Do you mean-”

He made a hushing sound, and she saw his ears twitching. A fanged grin split his face. “Sorry, kit. Someone’s calling me.”

The door opened just after Trixx had vanished from view. Adrien walked in wearing a gym shirt and jogging pants. He came to a sudden stop as he noticed Alya before smiling and waving. “Oh, hey! I wasn’t really expecting anyone to be down here.”

“What’s up, blondie? Going on a run or something?”

“Something like that. There are some treadmills done here. I thought I’d turn on a TV, maybe spend my time productively while I was at it.”

“Sunshine, you don’t have to be productive when you are on vacation.” She threw her hands over her head, continuing excitedly. “It’s vacation! I thought you of all people would love some downtime.”

“Ah, I, uh, well... “ He rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess not having a lot of free time has made me bad at using it.”

She shook her head at him. “You can’t be bad at using free time. Tell you what, how about we play some pool, okay?”

“I don’t know, I’m not very good at it…”

“Oh don’t worry. That isn’t a problem for me at all.” While he had his back turned to her to grab a pool cue, she grinned predatorily. Slaughtering this sacrificial lamb would be a fine way to get over her defeat at Nino’s hands. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The whole group was sitting together at the dining room table, eating a freshly made Nicoise salad. The chill that had settled into their bones was only just now starting to be shaken off. Marinette reflected that an afternoon spent building igloos would do that, even after they celebrated with piping hot tea. Just as she was starting to look forward to an evening spent in the warmth of the cabin, Adrien cleared his throat.

“So… I was thinking we could all go on a bit of a walk.” He very carefully watched his friends’ faces, Marinette doing her best to keep her exasperation to herself. 

“Isn’t it a bit late for that, Sunshine?” 

“No, see that’s the cool thing! You can get a guide to take you to scenic spots where you can watch the sunset over the mountain! I can’t really describe it, but it looks really cool!” The silence that greeted him seemed to put him on the defensive. “Listen, I know I’m kinda springing this on you, but you’ve got to trust me! We can’t just _not_ see it at least once while we are out here.”

“Dude, we definitely can.” Marinette found herself silently agreeing with Nino on this. She just wanted to be wherever the cold wasn’t. 

“Yeah, but…” he trailed off when he looked around at his friends. Glumly hanging his head and poking at his salad, he finished in a whisper, “...Okay, we can stay in.”

The defeat she felt in his voice tugged on her heartstrings. His immediate cave-in reminded her that he was very much used to his plans getting shot down at home. She started groaning as she realized what she was about to do, _loathing_ it every step of the way. Adrien looked up curiously at her.

“Are you okay, Marinette?”

“Fine. I’ll go.”

His eyes widened in shock. “W-what?”

“Your moonlight hike thing. We can go.” Just as he started perking up, she pointed a finger at him. “But! I reserve the right to complain every step of the way!”

He grinned at that. “So long as I get to say ‘I told you so’ when you realize that I was right.”

A look passed between Alya and Nino, before the latter sighed and the former spoke. “Well, blondie, it doesn’t feel right to stick around in your cabin while you two prance around outside. I guess we’re going too.”

If Adrien was happy before, he was positively ecstatic now. He stood up to pull Alya and Nino into half-hugs, and seemed set on doing the same with Marinette. Just before he reached her, a realization passed through him, dampening his enthusiasm. Instead of a hug, he awkwardly patted Marinette on the shoulder.

He got settled back into his seat to finish his meal. “I’m glad you’re going with me. All of you. This will be worth it, I promise!”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As promised, Adrien listened to his friends complain for the entire way up, his enthusiasm undampened by their discomfort. He was more concerned about the way Marinette would shiver if the wind blew in just the wrong way. For the rest of the trip, he made his duty to stay close enough to her to keep her warm, or at least block the wind. She didn’t complain, which he supposed was progress. It was the closest they’d gotten (while awake) since Valentine’s.

With that sobering thought on his mind, he glanced up towards their guide. They hadn’t had much of an opportunity to introduce themselves, and Adrien was kicking himself for not paying attention when she had said her name. Sure, he might not meet her again, but a little caring goes a long way. 

She stopped at the crest of the hill, the sun still just above the horizon. “Okay, hikers. I think this will be the best spot we can get to before the sun sets. Looks like we’ve got about ten minutes, so get comfortable.” Her version of comfortable, it seemed, was to pull out a thermos and take a drink from it. For their part, the four of them huddled closer together until the time came. 

Their quiet conversation came to a quick end when he pointed to the horizon, “Guys, look! It’s starting!”

The dying light of the setting sun painted the entire mountainside in yellows and oranges, flowing over the pristine snow like watercolors as it melted seamlessly between hues. With the only sound in the world being the hushed awe of his companions, and the whisper of the wind meandering through the snowscape, there was plenty of room for thought and introspection. Instead of doing that, he focused solely on the moment he was sharing with his friends. Before long, the yellows and oranges gave way to red and purple before it too vanished, to be replaced by darkness. The light of the full moon gave the snow an unearthly glow, making it easier for them on the return journey. 

As they started their trek back to the cabin, Adrien took up his spot near Marinette again. Putting his hand on her opposite shoulder, he pulled her close to whisper to her, “I told you so,” before letting her go.

She shook her head in exasperation, but by the light of the moon he could see the faint smile on her face.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Business was slow as Tom Dupain swept up his bakery. The heavy, cold rains of late winter he suspected were the cause of this. Not many people were willing to brave the downpour, especially mixed with slush and ice as it was. Still, he knew that it was on days like this that his most interesting customers would appear. Even knowing this, he hadn’t expected to see a man that looked as though he stepped out of a medieval fairytale, all clad in shining armor and heavy fur cloak. Yet that is the sight that greeted him when he glanced out the windows of his bakery.

He knew who it was, of course. Truesight appeared on the news semi-regularly over the past few months, and was seen almost daily this week. The courage the man had to possess, to fight the akumatized victims without superpowers…

Tom drummed his fingers as he watched the knight tilt his head to the skies, his back still facing the bakery. No one else was in the streets, and for good reason. Even heroes would catch their death of the cold that the storm was bringing. 

He called out to his wife. “Honey? We’re about to have a guest.”

From in the kitchen of the bakery, Sabine replied, “Oh? Do I know them?” She stepped in the storefront and followed Tom’s eyes to Truesight, who was still standing in place. “...Oh.”

As he stepped forward towards the door, he heard Sabine getting being the counter and preparing a box for the hero. 

The door opened, and Tom shivered at the rush of cold air. He elected to stay within the threshold, only poking out his head. “Excuse me? Monsieur Truesight?”

Without moving, he answered, “Just Truesight is fine.” He tilted his head back toward and turned to face Tom. “What do you need?”

“I was just- It seems cold out there. Did you want to step inside for a moment?”

“The cold doesn’t bother me, but,” He inhaled deeply, “it smells divine in there. A moment’s respite won’t hurt.” 

As Truesight passed him, Tom grinned. _Marinette sure is missing out. A hero of Paris! In our own house! Amazing!_

Stepping fully into the bakery, said hero shed his cloak and hung it up on a hook near the door, revealing that the man was wearing a bandolier with glass vials, filled with some sort of purplish powder. Turning to face Tom, he drew back as even Truesight - himself a tall man - had to look up to meet Tom’s eyes. 

“Zounds, man! You’re as gigantic as my brother.” He chuckled to himself. “And clearly as kind, if you are inviting in a stranger off the streets.” His pace was leisurely as he threaded his way through the display cases filled with pastries. 

“Well, we can’t call you a stranger - at least not on our end. We see you saving the city on the TV.”

“Granted. Though almost all within the city know nothing of me beyond the name.” There was an odd melancholy to his voice as he sighed, “I am unknown.”

After the quiet had stretched out, Sabine asked, “Do you have any family in Paris?”

“Excluding these children I have adopted, no.” He had finished his meandering and how stood at the checkout. 

“Oh! About them,” Sabine stopping packing to look curiously at Truesight, “are they really on vacation right now?”

“Aye. They’re just children, and I’m sure I could’ve convinced them to stay, but…” He leaned on the counter, looking into the middle distance. “...They deserve a break.”

Concern crept into Sabine’s voice. “Are they really so young?”

“Much too young for so dangerous a task. But they suit their roles well. All I can do is ensure they emerge this bitter business intact.”

Tom placed a hand on his chest, covering the pain that lanced his heart. _What would their parents think, their children putting their lives on the line to fight Hawkmoth? Could they tell them to stop, knowing how many others would suffer?_ His eyes widened as the thought occurred to him that maybe they didn’t know, and one day, after a terrible fight their son or daughter just… didn’t come home. 

Truesight stood and put his fingers under his helmet, clearly set on removing the piece of armor.

“Woah, woah, what are you doing? Is that safe?”

“Aye? I doubt either of you is Hawkmoth, but even so I have nothing to hide. It’s not like you’ll recognize me.” Before they could respond, he had removed the helmet, placing it on the counter before him. A chainmail coif concealed his hair from view, but the short crimson beard and pale blue eyes gave Tom his first real look at the face of the mysterious Truesight. Shortly after, he took off his gauntlets, revealing a… 

Tom blinked in confusion when he saw Truesight wearing a pair of Ladybug-colored gloves.

The confusion must have shown on his face, since the hero commented, “A Christmas gift from Ladybug herself. I like them.” Reaching into a pouch, he pulled out a wad of small bills. 

Both Tom and Sabine rushed to dissuade him.

“We won’t be having any of that.”

“Oh no no no, this is a gift.”

A smile pulled at the edges of his lips. “While that is noble of you, doing right is a reward by itself. You don’t need to-”

“You are right,” Sabine interrupted, “we don’t need to, but we are going to.” She pushed the bag of goodies towards him. Hesitantly, he reached forward and opened it, grinning.

“This is a great bounty. Thank you.” He pulled out a chocolate croissant and took a bite. “I shouldn’t impose much longer upon your hospitality. Once I’ve finished this, I’ll be on my way.”

True to his word, he finished the croissant and put back on his gauntlets and helmet. The cloak returned to his shoulders, and he stepped back out into the rain. With pride, Tom noted that he would now be patrolling Paris with food Tom had made by hand. 

Tom might not be a great hero like him, but it felt good to have found a way to help.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The clinging warmth of the steam filled room was, in Marinette’s opinion, what a holiday should really be about. She was sure that she might have been able to enjoy all these activities that Adrien was dragging them to more if it wasn’t for the… rift between them at the moment. Scowling at herself, she did her best to empty her mind and just enjoy the present. 

No one else was up, or at least they weren’t active. After prising herself off of Adrien to start her morning, she just wanted to be alone for a while. And what better place to do so than deep within the basement, soaking in the hot waters of the spring? Not even Tikki had followed her down there, which had been strange. Not necessarily unusual, since Tikki had been wandering by herself for the past few days anyway, but after a year of never having her outside arm’s reach, it felt weird. She’d picked up the habit of talking to thin air, expecting Tikki to answer, but without her around she was just talking to herself.

 _Maybe Tikki is hanging out with Trixx?_ She knew that the fox kwami was in the cabin somewhere, even if she hadn’t spotted him yet. _I probably won’t - he IS the kwami of illusion, after all. Maybe he even has the power to hide himself with magic?_

A knowing smirk crossed her face as she remembered all the popcorn and cotton candy Alya had been oh-so-sneakily shoving into her purse. _I guess not all the kwami have the same taste. Do they each have their own preference?_ She shook her head. The question could always be posed to Tikki or maybe even Truesight if she really wanted an answer. 

A muffled noise behind her immediately brought her back to her surroundings. With instincts honed over a year of fighting, she was on her feet immediately and had taken up a fighting stance. Her Chat Noir bikini - wearing Chat Noir’s colors always helped her feel… bolder - was a far cry from her Ladybug armor, and she felt very exposed.

Before long, she found the culprit, a stack of towels that had fallen to the ground. She let out a relieved sigh, only to tense up again. _How did they fall over?_

The door rattled with a heavy knock, startling Marinette. Immediately after, a cold wind (well, colder than the steamy air in the room) washed over her, drawing an indignant squeak from her before she immersed herself back in the water. She whipped her head around to glare at the intruder, meeting Alya’s wide grin.

“Sorry, girl. I wanted to make sure you heard me. Everyone’s awake and we’re getting ready to move stuff into the cinema room. Get dressed and pull your weight, girl!” Without waiting for a response, she winked and thankfully closed the door behind her. The air was noticeably chiller, and Marinette groaned. 

_Horror movie day. Great. As if I’m not already jumpy enough. Was this the payback Alya had in mind for yesterday’s movie?_

Emerging from the water, she stepped past the towel that had fallen on the floor and grabbed a fresh one. Somewhere above, a tiny, floating cat grinned.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Only once the last of the blankets were dropped onto the pile did Adrien allow himself to collapse onto the large sofas that dominated the room. While he was definitely in shape, carrying armloads of blankets and pillows over two stories had been an ordeal. Especially since Alya had demanded so many to be brought down. He hadn’t even had a chance to change out of his pajamas and t-shirt, though she had said he was better off wearing that for today. The reporter herself had more important matters to deal with - such as the snacks that they would be going through. The snacks were apparently so important, they required the attention of two people to make. Nino had bravely volunteered. In fact, the only one left to help him had been…

“Whew! That’s the last of them. We’re going to make this even cozier than it was before.” Marinette sat down on the sofa behind Adrien’s, evening out her breathing while staring at the ceiling. 

“That’s great! Even these couches would get uncomfortable if we spent all day on them.” Which was the plan, according to Alya. She hadn’t told him yet what movies they would be watching, only getting a knowing glint in her eyes whenever the topic came up, but he didn’t mind. The important thing is that he was watching them with his friends.

“Yeah.” She stood and began sorting through the blankets, throwing some on the backs of the couches, and strategically adding pillows according to a pattern Adrien couldn’t pick up on. He got to his feet and stood at the edge of the room, wanting to help but not knowing how. 

“There. Now _this_ is a proper binge watching set up.” She walked out the door and he followed.

The scent of melted butter met them long before they reached the kitchen, where Alya and Nino had filled up two large tubs with popcorn. Alya was clutching them in her arms while Nino was carrying two paper bags with one arm and four plastic cups with the other. In short, they were a mess and were about to make a mess of his childhood getaway. Something had to be done.

“Hey, bro, let me get those.” Rushing forward, Adrien grabbed the paper bags from Nino. With a quick peek inside, he discovered each held several liters of pop. “My dietitian wouldn’t approve,” Adrien noted with a smile.

Alya, now carrying only one tub of popcorn, replied, “And if he wants to stop you, he can come out here and _try_.” She flashed a grin to Marinette. “Thanks, girl. I don’t think I would have made it down the stairs with all that in one piece.”

Rolling her eyes, Marinette deadpanned, “We can’t have you working too hard today.”

“Oh shush, girl.” As they walked downstairs, she asked over her shoulder, “Babe, you got the movies?”

“Totally, babe!”

Adrien tilted his head to the side. They had a pretty extensive collection of movies here that had only grown over the years he’d been gone. What could they _not_ have down there? “What movies are we watching?”

“Well, dude, we took a look and noticed that your daddio doesn’t have any scary stuff. We thought that might be the case, so I’ve got a bunch of horror right here.” He patted his backpack for emphasis.

 _Horror. Makes sense, father never really approved of it._ Then he remembered Marinette’s dislike of them, and his eyes widened. Glancing at her, she looked every bit as uncomfortable as he would expect. Still watching her, he asked, “...Is that all we’ll be watching today?”

“I’ll excuse your ignorance of movie days ‘cause you are a homeschool kid. You gotta stick with the theme, blondie. I don’t make the rules.” They reached the room where they’d be spending most of the day, getting settled into the spots they had claimed during their last movie session. 

While Alya and Nino were making themselves comfortable, Adrien whispered to Marinette, “Are you going to be okay?”

Marinette glanced at him. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

 _Which is what you usually say when you aren’t fine._ “We can step out at any time if you want.”

“Really, I’ll be okay.” Marinette smiled. “But thanks for the concern.”

“No problem. I’ll be here if you need me.”

With everybody wrapped up in blankets - Alya and Nino being wrapped up together - they were ready to start the show.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Letting out a mournful wail that was pretty well muffled by Adrien’s chest, Marinette was upset. Not just because of the movies, although that was a major part of it. One horror flick was bad enough, but an entire day of them… it was going to be a slog. And they weren’t even done with the first one yet!

But the greater problem was that that she was seeking solace with Adrien. The very same one she had been attempting to avoid for this entire vacation. She couldn’t help it. There was just something so comforting about him. Maybe it was the fact that he hadn’t laughed at her jumps or been bothered by her frightened squeaks. His patient tenderness reminded her of why she had fall for him in the first place, which was a huge problem considering that she was trying to move on from him. 

A shiver ran through her body as the violins shrieked to build up tension. The surround sound system was awesome when it was any other movie, but now… it just felt inescapable. 

She jolted when she felt a weight on her back, only partially relaxing when she realized it was a hand. Adrien’s hand. Rubbing slow, comforting circles as she infrequently screamed into his chest. Soon enough, the movie was over, and the popcorn mostly eaten.

Alya leaned on the back of the couch to look at Adrien and her. “That movie was solid, wasn’t it? We have the sequel right here, but maybe we should take a small break. Can you guys refill the popcorn?”

Around her, Adrien shifted, presumably grabbing their emptied bucket. “Sure. Want to go with me, Mari?”

“...Y-yeah. I, uh, need to stretch anyway.” With more reluctance than she was willing to admit, she pulled away from Adrien and got to her feet. They slipped on their shoes as they exited the room – the floors were so smooth, Marinette was practically guaranteed to slip without the extra traction.

The steady beat of their footsteps echoed off the walls of the long room, loud enough to be heard over the waterfall. She was painfully aware of these noises with the awkward silence that loomed between the two of them. Which was probably why her eyes were wandering the room as Adrien walked in front, leading their way towards the stairs. A faint chuckle from her left snared her attention. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a small shadow suddenly peel off one of the pillars and vanish. Uncertain if it was her frayed nerves or something more tangible, her eyes flitted over the rest of the room, searching for any clues as to what she thought she saw and heard.

“Marinette? Are you alright?”

She jumped at the sound of Adrien's voice, silently cursing herself for her jumpiness. _Fricking Alya and her movies. This was pretty far to go just for revenge for ONE movie._ Aloud, she smiled nervously and replied, “Yeah, just... thought I heard something was all.”

He showed surprise for a moment before realization flickered across his face. He put an arm across her shoulders and guided her towards the stairs. “I'm sorry Alya insisted on the scary movie marathon. Nino said she stepped out onto the balcony, and when she came back in she was dead set on it. I don't know what came over her.”

Marinette sighed. “That sounds like Alya alright. She won't let anything get between her and what she thinks is a good idea.”

Silence returned as they reached the top of the stairs. Desperate to start up a conversation, she asked the first question that came to her mind. “So... why don't you have many horror movies here? Alya and Nino brought almost all of the ones we are watching.”

Adrien leaned back against the kitchen counter as the popcorn began cooking. “Father doesn't approve of horror movies. He doesn't really see the point of them.

“Gabriel doesn’t approve of much, does he?”

Smiling, he murmured, “No, not really.” After a moment of thought, he added, “He approves of you.”

“What?”

“Well, he helped me make the dress I gave you for Christmas, and when I mentioned that you’d be going with me up here, he seemed to decide to let me go. Plus, he knows how talented you are.”

Marinette didn’t know what to do with this information. On the one hand, praise from _Gabriel Agreste_ , renown fashion icon, was very hard to come by. It should feel like an honor. But on the other hand, Mr. Agreste was the cause of most of Adrien’s troubles, often threatening to pull him out of school and keeping him too busy for friends. _Well, TRY to keep him too busy for friends._ Add to that the neglect, and Marinette had mixed feelings about this praise. 

Before she could formulate a response, she realize the popcorn was ready. She shivered. Back to the marathon…

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sequel, unsurprisingly, ended up being much like the original movie. Despite it being basically just the first movie, again, Marinette had a similar, though more subdued, reaction to it. Not that Adrien minded. He just wanted to do whatever he could to make Marinette more comfortable. 

When his phone went off during the ending credits, that caused Marinette to jump as well, which she seemed thoroughly embarrassed over. 

“The Gorilla is here, and he’s making dinner. It should be ready in about half an hour. You guys want to go upstairs and wait?”

Everyone in agreement, they made their way to the kitchen for dinner.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Girl, do you seriously have to do this now? We can make some _later_.”

“Yes! I’m tired of eating all that popcorn, so we are going to make some macarons!” 

Alya sighed and returned to the living room, presumably to talk with Nino. This left Adrien to stand bemusedly at the entrance to the kitchen, watching Marinette and the Gorilla make the pastries he had seen so often at her parents’ bakery. 

As she was stirring the mixture, she asked, “So, Francis, do you make a lot of desserts?”

Carefully, he growled out a “No.”

“Really? That’s a shame. It’s always been my favorite to make. Why don’t you?”

Ponderously, he shifted his massive bulk to face Adrien, raising a finger to point in his direction while grunting, “Diet.”

“What?!” Scandalized, she walked over to him, poking him in the chest. “Is this true?”

“I-it isn’t that strict, but yeah, sweets are kinda limited. Special occasions only.” A large eyebrow lifted on the normally taciturn face of the Gorilla in response to his stutter. 

She turned back toward the Gorilla, eyeing him suspiciously. “You aren’t about to tell Gabriel about us spoiling him, are you?”

“No.”

“I’m glad we understand each other then.”

Adrien smiled broadly, “Thanks, Francis.” He started to walk out of the room. “I’ll leave you guys to it then. I don’t want to crowd your workspace.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once the macarons were done, Marinette stacked them carefully on a platter. “These look delicious! Do you want some to take with you, Francis?”

The gears turned in the giant man’s mind as he rubbed his chin with his hand. Eventually, he nodded. “Yes.”

While she grabbed a few of the better snacks to put in a plastic container for him, she asked, “So what do you do while you aren’t with us? I mean, we only see you a couple hours out of the day, so you have to occupy your time somehow.” 

A shadow fell over Marinette as he leaned over, his voice quiet but rumbling, like a distant avalanche. “Telenovelas. Very behind.”

“Oh! I’ll let you get back to them then.” She smiled as she handed him the box of macarons. “I hope you have a good night!”

He put on a bowler hat and his jacket. In the middle of turning to leave, he paused, and looked back at her. There was a gentle concern in his eyes. “Watch out for him.” He stepped outside the kitchen and was soon out the door. 

_Watch out for him? What am I watching out for? And why me?_

Shrugging it off, she reluctantly went to rejoin her friends down below.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Okay, kids, I’m starting to get bored. It’s getting pretty late anyway.”

Relief flooded Marinette at Alya’s words. They’d watched more horror movies, took a break to play card games, and then watched _even more horror movies_. She didn’t even care that she would have to go to bed with Adrien, the awkwardness didn’t stand a chance. Honestly, she was just glad to have someone else in the room that she didn’t want to throttle for putting her through this. She would finally be free!

“...But I want to finish on a few scary stories.” 

Marinette groaned in anguish internally. Everyone stared at her, startled. _Maybe that wasn’t as internal as I was hoping it was…_

Her best friend laughed. “Fine, girl, fine. Just one and I’ll let you go. This is an old folktale about some evil spirits…”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Staring at the ceiling, Adrien and Marinette were, unfortunately, very much awake. Alya could be a frighteningly good story teller when she put her mind to it. The tale she wove of trickster spirits performing pranks on mortals, slowly ramping up until they came for their very lives may have sounded silly on paper, but with the voices and lighting she employed… it became real in their minds. 

Neither was willing to admit to the other that they had… experiences… with strange noises or things moving by themselves in the cabin. 

“Hey, Adrien?”

A haggard voice answered her, “Yeah?”

“I’m going to get some water from the kitchen. Did you want anything?”

“No, I’m good.” He cleared his throat nervously. “Do you, uh, do you want me to go with you?”

She bit her lower lip. _Yes, I am shaken right now and don’t want to be by myself right now._ “Uh, no, I should be fine. Back in a minute.”

Clambering out of bed, she took her phone to light her path and made her way to the kitchen.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Stupid, stupid!” Adrien muttered to himself. Crunch. _Now I’m hungry, tired, scared, AND alone._ Crunch crunch. _I should’ve just gone with her._ Crunch crunch crunch.

The noise finally pierced the fog of his tired mind. _What is that sound…?_

Slowly and purposefully, he got up, listening carefully. Minutes passed, and he didn’t hear anything. The tension left him as he laughed at himself. _Just my imagination…_

Crunch crunch.

His eyes widened. 

Crunch crunch.

The noise was definitely coming from the drawer on Marinette’s side of the bed. As silently as he could manage, he walked over to it, and reached out to open it. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finding a glass from the cabinet, she set it under the tap and watched it slowly fill. Any other day, she might have missed it, but today she was high-strung. She couldn’t be absolutely certain, but a black blur had sped past at the corner of her eye. Whirling around, she carefully checked the shadows, narrowing her eyes in distrust. The kitchen was empty… or so it seemed. _Was there something to Alya’s story after all…?_

A soft cackling made her whip her head around to the opposite side of the room. A shadow had darted into the cabinet. Stepping forward, she threw open the door, her emptied glass held at the ready. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

His hand rested on the handle of the drawer. A bead of sweat traced it’s way down his face. The crunching only got louder, there could be no doubt that _something_ was in there. He fervently hoping that it was just some sort of mouse. Or maybe a bug. 

Mustering his courage in one heroic surge, he pulled open the drawer. Despite the sudden movement, the small red creature within looked unperturbed as it sat with a cookie larger than it was, several large bites already taken out of it. Big blue eyes looked up to met him.

“Hello, Chat Noir.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Her paranoia proved to be well-founded. Seated among the glassware was a jet-black creature with cat ears and tail. Glowing green eyes that seemed oddly familiar stared back at her, a mischievous grin on its face. Cackling, it zipped out of the cabinet. 

It didn’t make it far. Almost immediately, it was caught inside the glass that she had been holding, pressed against the kitchen counter. It’s tale flicked back and forth in irritation. 

Turning back to her, it said, “Hey, Ladybug.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien held the creature - Tikki, _Ladybug’s kwami_ , he reminded himself - gingerly in both his hands. This was all a lot to take in, and a tsunami of emotions was threatening to overtake him. Just as he was feeling overwhelmed, the door to the bedroom opened and slammed shut immediately afterwards. 

Marinette stepped into the room. She clutched an unruffled Plagg in her fist. Her face was a perfect expression of nervous panic, and she garbled a bunch of words at him while brandishing Plagg in his general direction. Too stunned to reply, he let her get whatever she was saying off her chest.

Eventually, she noticed he was holding Tikki. Her eyes widened even further, and she took a hesitant step back. Her hand relaxed, allowing Plagg to float away. Adrien barely registered Tikki following after him. He stood.

“Marinette… You’re Ladybug.”


	22. A New Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coming to grips with the reveal has left Marinette and Adrien uncertain of where their relationship stands. Are they friends? Partners? Or something more?

“You’re Ladybug.” 

Adrien repeated himself, now more for his benefit than hers. A wide smile was slowly dawning on his face as the idea started to take root in his mind. In his most unguarded moments, he’d always hoped that this would be the case, but to actually have fiery, artistic Marinette be bold, witty Ladybug always seemed too good to be true. But, here he was, living his greatest dream. 

“You’re Ladybug!” He rushed forward, pulling her into a hug and spinning her around in a circle. Her indignant squeak convinced him to place her back down. He pulled back, but still held her lightly by her shoulders, his forehead touching hers. 

By the dazed, bewildered even, expression on her face, however, Marinette was having much more trouble accepting this. A cold knife of anguish pierced his heart when he realized that she might not be as enthusiastic about this revelation. Sure, both of them had _wanted_ , deep down, to share their identities, but she had always been the one to pull back, to adhere to the rules handed to them. 

_Maybe she didn’t want to know,_ whispered a treacherous voice in his mind, _after all, the boy who hurt her and the partner she pushed away are one and the same. The hero she confided in about her heartbreak was the same one who caused it. It’s the worst situation imaginable!_

His hands slid off her shoulders as he backed up and he looked away. “Marinette, I’m so sorry-”

Before he could finish, she had leapt forward to clumsily press her lips to his.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien was mumbling something, and sounding more and more excited by the moment, but that was the furthest thing from Marinette’s mind at the moment. 

Adrien was Chat Noir. Chat Noir was Adrien. But that was impossible. 

The feline hero was cocky, silly, and oozed self-confidence. Her partner almost always bit off more than he could chew, from rushing into fights unprepared (their first akuma stuck out in her mind) to grand romantic gestures. This was the cat who decided the best way to comfort the heartbroken is to tell stupid jokes until they feel better! 

But… she remembered the times when he was vulnerable. The tender moments they shared where the mask seemed to fall aside and that Adrien kindness shone through. All the little things that Adrien did when he was among friends - the dramatic bows, the puns, the life and energy that was so Chat Noir that it hurt to think that she had never put it together. 

Her thought process was disrupted by suddenly being picked up and twirled around, her squeak of protest all she could muster with the hurricane of emotions clogging her mind.

She looked up at him, seeing him as if for the first time. _Can he really be Chat Noir?_

There was a change in his eyes - the joy left, replaced by grief. A surge of desire unburdened by words, the want to see that spark of joy return, made her do what she had wanted to do for almost two years now.

She rushed forward and kissed the boy.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just as quickly as she had embraced him, she parted, suddenly flustered and red in the face.

“I-I’m s-sorry, I didn’t mean to t-throw myself at you l-like-” 

Then it was his turn to cut her off. The kiss lacked skill, but they made up for it in enthusiasm. He felt a hand reach up to the nape of his neck, and a brief pass through his hair. His own hands remained fixed on her lower back and the back of her head. After some fumbling that involved more teeth and awkwardly bumping against each other than what his mangas had lead him to believe, they parted, each gasping for air. The next few moments entailed them staring wide-eyed at each other - because of realization at what they had done, or at each other’s audacity, Adrien wasn’t sure.

“Marinette…” His voice was low, only heard because of their proximity. For one glorious second, she stared up at him like he was all the stars in the sky. 

Then she grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled his face down to his level to glare at him. “Okay, kitty, what the hell was Valentine’s about?”

He winced. “W-well… uh, so you know how I… well, I mean Chat, loves Ladybug?”

Her jaw dropped. “No way…”

Rubbing the back of his neck, he continued, “Haha, yeah… all that talk about Ladybug reminded me I wasn’t quite over you, so I broke up… with you? I didn’t want to hurt you by not being able you give you my full heart.” He looked into her eyes and smiled. “But… it turns out I just fell for the same girl twice.”

She pouted at him and let go of his shirt to cross her arms. “K-keep saying lines like that and I might just forgive you.” She sighed. “I can’t be too hard on you. F-first I rejected Chat because of Adrien, then I grew feelings for Chat and kept Adrien at arm’s length.” 

Smiling up at him, she cupped his cheek. “Look at us, silly kitty. What a mess we are.”

“Yeah, I’ll say,” Plagg grumbled. “It was painful to watch.”

“Plagg don’t be mean! They couldn’t have known - the magic was too strong.” Tikki reprimanded him, whacking his arm with hers. Despite her words, she was smiling - Adrien guessed that she liked how things had turned out too.

“Which is why they needed us to nudge them along. But geez, they are dense. All those hints and it took us sitting out in the open for them to get it through their skulls.”

Adrien frowned up at Plagg, instantly suspicious. “What did you do?” 

A manic grin graced Plagg’s face. There was only two things Adrien knew of that got Plagg excited - cheese and mischief. “Glad you asked, kid. Subtlety was lost on you, but getting Trixx in on it certainly-” His mouth was suddenly covered by a panicked Tikki.

Through gritted teeth, she whispered harshly at her destructive counterpart, “One. Reveal. At. A. Time.”

He zipped around the room, chased by Tikki, and Adrien could only barely make out what he was saying. “Oh, like it would’ve taken long to figure out. Who else would she have chosen?”

“Stop it! You keep underestimating Truesight’s enchantment! They couldn’t figure out the identity of their true loves!”

The kwami rapidly devolved into name calling and soon, Adrien found himself alone again with Marinette.

“So…” Adrien looked back to his partner and friend. “What now?”

“Well, it’s pretty late, so I guess we go to sleep?” Fitting actions to words, she climbed into bed.

“That’s not what I meant. And how can we sleep! We have so much to talk about!”

Her voice was muffled due to laying face down in the pillows. “Can’t hear you, already asleep.” 

Despite himself, he got under the covers as well. “You just don’t want to talk about this,” he grumbled.

Propping herself up on her elbows, she looked into Adrien’s eyes. Her Ladybug confidence shone through, but… there was doubt, and fears there as well. As she stared, a light blush started to form at her cheeks. 

“L-look. This is a lot to take in. We’ll talk about it - I promise. But… just let me come to grips with it first, okay?”

He didn’t last long against her, and broke eye contact. “Okay. But!” He added as she started getting comfortable again, putting his hand on one of her cheeks to turn her face back toward him. “I’m glad it was you.”

Her expression softened and she leaned into his touch, covering his hand with hers. “It’s a dream come true. I couldn’t have asked for a better Chat Noir.”

After an eternity that fit within a few heartbeats, they turned off the lights and settled into bed.

“Good night, Bugaboo.”

“Good night, kitty.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The quiet didn’t last long before Adrien gasped and sat up. “Wait! That means that you didn’t have any secret mission! You sent me to watch after _you_!” 

Dazed, Marinette rubbed at her eyes. “What?”

“Remember when Nathaniel got akumatized? Ladybug told me to watch out for Marinette - but _both of those people are YOU_!”

“Oh… yeah.” She laughed nervously. “Well, he came into my room admitting a crush and everything so… I thought it’d be a good chance to prevent him from causing more harm, you know?”

He stared at her. “You also asked me if I thought you were cute!”

In the darkness, he couldn’t quite see her expression, but he could feel her fidgeting. “Y-yeah…”

Leaning closer to make sure she could see what he hoped was his best sly smile, he purred, “Since you were the same person, then surely you already knew the answer, Bugaboo?” 

With a groan she pushed him back. “Just go to sleep, alley cat.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Wait wait wait.” Marinette turned over to face Adrien. “So when that hypnotist attacked, and your ‘modeling instincts’ had you go take a shower…”

“...I had to transform into Chat Noir, yeah.” At the sound of her laughter, he got defensive. “Hey! You of all people should know that making up an excuse on the fly isn’t always easy. I needed to tell Nino something that would get me some privacy.” His tone got suggestive. “Then again, my lady seemed pretty eager to walk in on me.”

She sputtered unintelligibly while scrambling for an excuse. “Your house was under attack! I needed to make sure you were safe!”

“Safety mandatory, but clothing optional?” The smugness was back in his voice.

Choosing to ignore him, she instead asked, “So that means it was you who was yelling at Gabriel Agreste…” He was silent, and she felt him roll over to look at the ceiling. “You seemed so _chatty_ just a minute ago, kitty.” The silence continued. “It’s okay to be mad at him, you know. Just because you’re family doesn’t mean you have to get along.” She groped blindly for his hand, finding it and giving it a squeeze, which he reciprocated. 

“...Thanks.”

The still quiet of the night returned, but another question was nagging at her. “How did you make it to Nino’s challenge? You were standing right in front of him, with your bodyguard. But Chat Noir made it. How?”

He snorted. “I can be a sneaky cat if I want to be, and I’ll leave it at that. Now _shhhh_ , and go to sleep.”

Huddled a bit closer than before, they tried once again to drift off.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh my God.” Marinette groaned, but Adrien was undeterred. “Did I really set up that romantic scene across the street from your house?”

“Yes. Now _sleep_.”

“What do you think the odds are of that? Do you think it was meant to be - like, I was unconsciously drawn to you?”

A couple months ago, Marinette would’ve swooned at Adrien admitting to being drawn to her. Even now, her stomach fluttered. But tiredness put a damper on romance. “I will smother you if you don’t go to sleep right now.”

She smiled as Adrien made pretend snoring noises. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien was stirred from his half-sleep when he started being beaten by a pillow. 

“You.” Smack. “ _Stupid._ ” Smack. “ _CAT!_ ”

Shielding himself from the barrage with his arms, he groggily cried out, “What?!”

“When Francis turned into a giant gorilla _you almost let yourself fall to your death!_ ” 

In his sleep deprived state, it took him a minute to place the memory. “It’s alright. You saved me in the end.”

“I only got away because Hawkbutt made him let me go! You could’ve _died_! _Why_?!”

“I had absolute faith you’d save me.”

She scooted towards him and rested her head against his chest, facing away from him. “You shouldn’t have.”

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he whispered, “I did, because you always do. You’re pretty amazing like that.”

She mumbled something he couldn’t hear and took that as his cue to try for sleep again.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

On and on this went throughout the night - sudden relocations spurring them into conversation, or, occasionally, smacking each other. By the time the sun’s rays were pouring into the spacious room, not even Adrien “Sunshine” Agreste was willing to start the day. Apart from some grumbling, neither of them seemed remotely concerned about it. 

Then there was a heavy knock at the door, enough to cut through the sleepless stupor they were in, but not quite enough to motivate them to action. With her face buried in his chest, Adrien felt as much as heard Marinette yell, “WHAT?!”

The door opened and both of their friends stomped into the room. They grinned at the sight of both of them tangled together, but Alya spoke before Adrien could offer any excuses. 

“Well, we _were_ coming to get you since we wanted to go into the resort today, but it looks like you two are busy enough. We’ll let you get back to your beauty sleep.” She patted Marinette’s leg under the blanket. “You go, girl!” 

Nino finger gunned as they began to leave, muttering, “Nice,” to Adrien as he left. 

Only once he heard the door close did Adrien breath a sigh of relief. _All in all, that was a pretty minimal amount of teasing. They must really be happy for us. Wait. **Is** there an ‘us’? We never really established anything. Is she still mad at me? Will she recoil again once she realizes how close we are? Should I start pulling away now?_

“So, uh, do you want to get up, or…?” In lieu of a response, Marinette rolled into him, nestling her head in the crook of his neck while grumbling unintelligibly. “I’ll take that as a no then.”

He certainly wasn’t complaining. She was warm and soft and smelled like strawberries. Not to mention he was tired. Letting go of his doubt, he allowed himself to listen to her breathing as it steadied and deepened while she slipped further and further into sleep. Despite the light, he found himself following her into slumber. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien blinked open his eyes. The blanket that had been covering his face was being slowly tugged off as a pair of high-pitched voices bickered nearby. With the sunlight making it difficult to get back to sleep, he sat up and stretched. He was feeling better rested anyway, so he had to have gotten _some_ sleep. A quick glance at his blanket revealed his familiar black kwami tussling with a spotted red one. The memories of the night - and early morning - came trickling back. He turned his head to his right, but the bed was empty. Marinette must already be up.

“Guys? Where’s Marinette?”

They stopped their fighting for a moment, Tikki having the upperhand. “She’s making breakfast downstairs.” She giggled. “Although, it is more like lunch by now.”

_It can’t be that- It is ten thirty. Oh._

Rolling out of bed, he went to take his morning shower before meeting up with Marinette.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

_The cabin isn’t so scary in the daylight._ Marinette took another bite out of her jam-covered toast. _Then again, so are most things. At least I know it wasn’t a ghost or monster I’ve been seeing the last couple days. Just Plagg._ She narrowed her eyes. While it may have had a happy ending, she needed to get back at Plagg for all the fear he’d put her through. 

The sounds of footsteps coming down the staircase alerted her to Adrien’s arrival, despite his almost legendary stealth. When he reached the bottom, she waved at him and flashed a brief smile before returning her attention to her toast.

Before he could walk past her into the kitchen, she told him, “I already made you some toast.” He pulled out the chair next to her. “Strawberry jam covered. Since you seem to like the smell, at least.”

She risked a glance over to him and was rewarded with a furious blush. The corners of her lips pulled upward. _I could get used to this._

They ate in silence, the stillness of the cabin only broken by the sounds of their eating. Adrien was staring out the window in front of him when his eyes suddenly widened. 

“You know, it’s a bit warmer than usual today…”

Instantly, she was suspicious. “Yes, I guess it is…”

“Which means the snow is going to be wetter…”

She turned to face him fully. “Are you challenging me to a snowball fight, hot stuff?”

Another blush, but he admirably powered through. “Y-yes! Unless, you’re… scared?”

Even he seemed to realize that the taunt was lame and painfully cliche, but she couldn’t help the competitive spark that flared to life in her. “Bring it on!”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien listened carefully while Tikki laid some ground rules, most of which could be summed up in ‘only use snow’ and ‘don’t hurt each other,’ neither of which Adrien had even considered breaking even before hearing them spoken aloud. The decision to make Tikki the referee was made without hesitation, besides from grumbling by Plagg. 

“Are the two of you ready?” Tikki asked. The two kwami floated in the space between their chosen, Tikki looking between the two, while Plagg made faces behind her. 

Nodding, Adrien turned his attention back to Marinette, who was watching him back. There was a confidence in her eyes that was so rare for him to see as Adrien, but which he had come to love as Chat Noir. 

“On the count of three, you can begin the fight. One…” Adrien shifted slightly, muscles tensing as he prepared to dash to the largest pile of untouched snow. “Two…” His eyes flickered to Marinette’s, trying to get a read on where she would go. Once he made his move and put his back to her, he would be blind to her actions for at least a few seconds. “Three!” 

Marinette ducked somewhere to the left of the cabin’s entrance, while he bolted towards the right. He caught a blur of red and black zooming to the cabin’s roof, but pushed those thoughts aside. The battle was on and he knew his lady wasn’t about to pull punches. _She might even be looking forward to this a bit too much._ Grinning, he packed a few snowballs and sneaked behind the cabin. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gritting her teeth, Marinette slowly turned in place, arm laden with snowballs and one hand raised high with the ammunition ready to be thrown. If she had any doubts about him being Chat Noir before, this fight had quashed them. It also helped explain a few things she’d seen with Adrien. After all, who else but Chat Noir can appear out of frickin’ nowhere, dump a bunch of snow on her and already be turning tail by the time she’d whirled around to face him? Just like all the times he’d pop out from behind a locker and scare the life out of her, now used for _evil_.

A shudder went through her. She was glad none of the akuma victims had figured out how to use him properly, instead simply throwing him at her. In a straight fight she’d have the upper hand. Which might be why he was avoiding that.

That wasn’t to say that he’d gotten away untouched. He couldn’t quite out run her well-honed instincts, and he’d been pelted more than a few times in the back of his head as he’d try to make his getaway. Some part of her also wanted to be upset that he was using her lack of grace against her - she could hardly chase him down on all this snow and ice - but she got back at him by aiming _just so_ that the cold snow would hit just above his pants, right where his sweater would also be riding up. 

The scandalized yelps from her partner/crush were music to her ears, and she found herself giggling despite the chill.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

After their hours long fight in the snow, they were both soaked to the bone and freezing, especially her. The warm embrace of the heated pool had looked like an enticing option at that time. Granted, now she had to try to have a normal conversation with Adrien looking as if he had just stepped out of a swimsuit ad, but she considered that a small price to pay for bodily bliss. 

Tentatively sticking a foot in the water, Marinette waded into the hot spring and submerged herself up to her chin and sighed in relief. Feeling was already returning to her icy limbs. She glanced at Adrien, who was leaning back with his elbows propped up against the slick stone of the pool, the water lapping just above his abs. He blushed as he looked back at her with amusement. 

“What?” She raised an eyebrow, daring him to poke fun at her. 

“I just can’t believe I didn’t notice it before. Ladybug hates the cold, and so does Marinette.” Shaking his head, he laughed. “We must be really dense.”

“Yeah, no joke.” Marinette followed the voice to its source near the towel racks. Seated there was Plagg with Tikki by his side. The latter took the opportunity to smack the cat kwami’s arm.

“Don’t be rude, you stinky sock! The magic of the Miraculous isn’t easy to overcome.”

“Still,” Adrien shifted to look at the pair, “it’s not like that was the only hint. Even _magic_ has to have limits when it comes to this sort of thing!”

“Maybe, but the important thing is that we know now, right?” She was weirdly glad at the magic. Sure, it robbed her of time with Adrien, but at least it meant someone accidentally finding out her identity was unlikely. Plus, she might never have gotten as close to Chat as she had if she had known it was Adrien early on.

The tender look he sent her way brought her thoughts to a halt. “Yeah…” 

His eyes widened and he turned away, unable to meet her stare. The fierce blush that colored his face only added to her confusion. 

“So, uh… where does that leave us? Our… our relationship?” His eyes flickered to hers before returning to staring at the opposite corner of the pool. “I know we, uh, we _kissed_ and all, but, ah, I don’t know if that was just a heat of the moment thing or, or…”

“Adrien.”

“Y-yeah?”

“Do you… Do you _want_ to be more than friends?”

“I- Yes.”

“This, um, this might sound kinda weird, but could you ask? Like, officially?”

He swallowed heavily and made a visible effort to look her in the eye. “Marinette. Do you… do you want to go out sometime?”

His nervousness was heartwarming, and weirdly satisfying, given all his confidence when trying to flirt with her as Chat. Giggling, she replied, “C’mon, you’re Chat Noir! You can do better than that, kitty.”

The words seemed to trigger something in him. It almost felt as if he had transformed into Chat Noir without using his miraculous, with a sly Chat-like grin washing away the uncertainty from just a few moments ago. Adrien glided through the water, quickly closed the distance between them and leaned over her. Any trace of his previous awkwardness had either been forgotten or carefully stored away. “Say, Bugaboo, have I ever told you your eyes are bluer than the Atlantic Ocean?” He drifted close to whisper in her ear, “And I don’t mind being lost at sea.”

A shiver ran down her spine, more at the feeling of his breath against her ear than the words themselves. Doing her best to keep an outer calm despite her legs feeling weak, she replied, “What makes you think pick-up lines are going to work _now_?”

“Well, that was before we both realized that you had pictures of me up on your walls.”

She felt her cheeks heat up beyond even the ambient warmth of the room. It had completely slipped her mind that Chat Noir had seen her Adrien posters. 

“But anyway, what about you and me go to dinner and a _mewvie_.”

“Oo! Oo! Do the one about the cheese!” Plagg called from the sidelines.

“Fine, fine.” Adrien cleared his throat. “You must be made of cheese, ‘cause you’re looking _Gouda_ tonight.”

“Oh God, you practice these?” Marinette covered her face with a hand. “I’m already regretting dating you.” When she looked back up, he was smiling softly at her. “What is it this time?”

“You said yes. We are _dating_.”

Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she smiled at him. “Yeah. I guess we are.”

Holding hands, they drifted closer to each other, faces closing in until her vision was entirely taken up by her best friend and partner. While it didn’t have the desperate intensity of their first, this kiss still conveyed all their feelings for each other that they didn’t have the words to express just yet. The rest of the world melted away as she gave herself over to the kiss and felt him gently brush a hand through her hair without breaking contact.

She was drawn from her pleasant escape by a joyful squeak. “Aww! Plagg, they’re being cute!”

“Nice! Good job, Adrien!”

“Adrien? This is all on Marinette!”

As the kwami began to bicker, Adrien parted with a sigh that was equal parts exasperation and bliss. He leaned his forehead against Marinette’s. “Do you want to go watch some TV or something?”

Smiling, she teased, “What a fancy first date for us.”

“Well, it is a mountain cabin getaway.” His eyes lit up. “I guess one of my dream reveals did come true after all.”

“True.” As he got up, Marinette grabbed his hand. When he looked back down at her she added, “But… even if we were just at home watching whatever, I’d be happy. S-since I’m with you.”

He turned away, but not before she saw his teary smile. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien wasn’t sure how he’d built up the good karma to end up in this situation, but he wasn’t questioning it. She was lounging on the front couch in the cinema room, the oversized TV put to good use playing one of his favorite animes, Ouran High School Host Club. Far more importantly, however, Adrien was sitting next to her, pressed closely together with their hands intertwined and his head leaned against hers. A soft blanket bundled them together, their combined warmth making even Marinette unable to complain about the cold. 

“Wait,” Marinette said as she paused the show, “do you hear that?”

Listening carefully, he couldn’t hear anything out of the usual. When he tried to say as much, his voice came out warbled. He slapped a hand over his mouth and looked at her in dread.

“Are you… purring?” Curiosity mixed with wonder tinted her voice. 

“N-no!”

“You _are_!” When he tried to deny it, she talked over him. “That’s _adorable_! Do it again!”

After a brief struggle, Adrien’s head was now on her chest, with his arms around her waist. He could feel his face burn in embarrassment even as the low rumbling shook his chest. She ran her fingers through his hair. Humming contently, she pulled the blanket back over them and unpaused the show.

Before the end of the episode, he’d settled into the new position and some of his embarrassment had left him. Once the credits rolled, he was almost back to a normal. Not that his heart seemed to have realized this. The intimacy of their current cuddling was something he’d had daydreams about while lying alone in his cold and empty room. 

Quiet enough that he suspected she was mostly talking to herself, Marinette muttered, “How are you even purring right now?”

Plagg poked his head out from behind the sofa, startling both of them. “He’s Chat Noir. Just like how you get some ladybug traits from Tikki, some cat traits from me stick with the kid.”

Adrien lifted his head to glare at the kwami. “So I can blame _you_ for this!”

Pointedly looking over their current position, Plagg replied, “Yeah, looks rough, kid. But hey! There are a lot worse habits you could’ve gotten. I bet she’d rather purr than freeze all the time.”

Conceding the point - he definitely didn’t want to claim he had it worse than Marinette - he put his head back down and they continued watching.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something had been bothering Marinette as they watched through almost the whole series. It was a nagging feeling, like it was all so familiar to her. At some point past the fourteenth episode, it hit her - Chat Noir acted suspiciously like Tamaki. As she remembered Chat’s many attempts at flirting, and how he grew up in isolation, it all clicked. 

She blurted out, “Is this how you learned how to flirt?” 

“Noooo…” He refused to look up at her, eyes remaining glued to the TV.

She paused the show to cut off that distraction. “Adrien. You know I don’t like liars.”

“I’m not lying!” He lied, blatantly. Grudgingly, he looked up at her. 

With menace in her voice, she glared down at him. “Adrien…” 

“Well, it worked, didn’t it!”

She tilted her head back and laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. “No wonder you were so oblivious! Here I was thinking it was obvious how much I liked you, but you were looking for a whole different set of hints.”

The pout he sported made her feel bad about laughing. Slightly. But after all the pining of the last year, he could deal with some teasing. “It wasn’t _that_ obvious,” he grumbled.

“Oh yeah, not obvious. Not like the entire class knows about it at this point. No sir.”

“What?!”

“Yup. I even had basically all the girls help me with an amazing plot to get a date from you. Then Hawkbutt had to akumatize a toddler and ruin it all.”

“Knowing you, I bet it really was an amazing plan.” She beamed at the compliment. “Amazingly complicated, that is.”

She shoved him playfully and they shared a laugh.

“Wait. The toddler akuma? Didn’t I offer you a ride home that day?” Her eyes widened as she remembered and groaned. “Yeah! And you said you’d take a coleslaw home.”

She groaned louder, which only made his grin even more smug. “Oh shut up and watch the show…”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alya and Nino returned late in the evening to find the two of them barely staying awake on the couch, cuddled close together. After waking the two lovebirds up and guiding them up the staircase, they returned to their own room and got ready for sleep.

Collapsing onto the bed, Alya asked him, wide eyed, “Did you see that?! They were practically on top of each other when we got back and they never stopped holding hands all the way till they got to their room! Those dorks are going to _kill_ me from sheer cuteness.”

Nino simply shook his head, smiling. “Dude, maybe we should leave them alone more often. Or maybe not, since the next time we do they might end up married or something.”

“I think I could live with that, babe. At least tomorrow it’ll be us who have the cabin to ourselves.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

_She spoke the words to the small guardian spirit, and felt the power surge through her. There had been many like her in this shrine to Apollo, but they had not possessed the sacred gemstone. They were mere observers to the flow of fate, but she was given the power to change its course. Now, she cast her mind out into the world, seeking courageous souls and valiant hearts for the task at hand._

_A farmer, bone thin and weak, had fallen to his knees before her, begging for aid from the gods against the horrid monsters that roamed the countryside. Her heart was moved by compassion, and she prophesied that help would arrive soon enough. The unfortunate soul left, hope renewed by her words._

_Her wandering thoughts came to end when she sensed righteous emotion being roused. There! A fitting vessel for the gift. She held out a hand and a glowing butterfly landed upon it. Whispering encouragement, she gently tossed it into the air and it set out with the speed of a diving hawk. The power ebbed from her and she smoothly caught Nooroo from the air before setting him on a soft pillow._

_A nearby priestess rushed over to her as she stepped out from the inner sanctum. “My lady Pythia! What is the Oracle’s will?”_

_“Sound the bells. Let the gods know that another hero is born to Greece.”_

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blinking away the memories that weren’t his own, Gabriel Agreste stared up at the ceiling. His feeble attempt to shift in his position only made him clutch his gut in pain, and a growl tore its way out his throat as he fought the nausea that came with it. He looked down at his bare chest and immediately regretted it. Even in the dim light of his secluded bedroom he could see his skin was a canvas of colorful bruises and shallow cuts. Fragments of the night before flashed in front of him. Those cuts, deep and bleeding. His entire body a series of welts. Nathalie, pale faced with fear as she bandaged his wounds. Limping to his bed, passing out almost immediately

This had _not_ been part of the plan. 

When he sent out the latest and most powerful of his akumas, they had assured him that being untethered by human emotion would mean that it would be far more potent than it had ever been before. Desperation had quieted the doubts he had about this - after all, emotions formed the core of the butterfly’s powers. Why would a lack of it make it more powerful?

But something had to be done. The war was slipping away from him - a strong move was necessary to put the odds in his favor. He refused to relinquish his goal.

As his akuma fought the lone hero, he could tell something was off. He felt twinges of pain as the monster was struck. Just as it’s power surged, Gabriel felt himself weakening, falling to one knee as the strength left his limbs. All he could do was watch and hope that it would be enough. 

A smile tugged at his lips as he settled back in the bed. For all the pain Gabriel had suffered, he at least took some solace in that Truesight had gotten the worse end of it. If this was how quickly a miraculous user recovered, what hope could a mere man have at surviving the injuries? 

No. Truesight may have vanished off the battlefield, but Gabriel was certain he would not be an obstacle to him again.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

_In the safety of the crowd, Robin watched as his hated enemy, Prince John, denounced him as a bandit and low-life. As was often the case, this was accompanied by an increase in the bounty on his head. With this declaration, he sped inside while his loyal guards filtered through the crowd handing out fliers with a well-painted image of him on it. There was a general murmuring at this, for surely he had employed magic to create so many exquisite copies of the image. And truly, Robin Hood would fear for his safety…_

_...If the face on the bounty was the same face he wore now._

_Only once he had left the settlement did he drop the illusion. He whispered to the fairy in his cloak, “Trixx? I hear that Reynard the Fox might be causing some trouble for the good king John tonight. Wouldn’t that be a shame?”_

_A pair of purple eyes glimmered up at him, full of coy mischief. “Oh yes. It would be terrible if someone were to, say, sneak in and throw open the gates.”_

_Robin matched his companion’s fanged smile. “I’m glad we agree how dreadful that would be then.”_

_A couple hours later and he was back at camp. Little John approached him, clad as ever in his wolf pelt cloak, his crimson hair tied back into a ponytail. “Did you find what ye were looking for, lad?”_

_Nodding, Robin replied, “Yes. It was just as you said - he openly flaunts his magic, and I overheard the guards talk about unholy voices deep in the dungeons. This despite him having pressed all criminals into his ranks, or executing them.”_

_“What time will we be raiding the fool’s castle?”_

_“God willing, this all ends tonight.”_

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alya yawned, straightening her back out as she stretched. The dreams had been less frequent while out in the cabin, but she was at least glad that she seemed to be witnessing _heroic_ foxes rather than villains now. She frowned as she recalled a detail from the memory that didn’t quite fit, but couldn’t give it much thought since in the process of stretching, she bumped into something behind her.

Well, some _one_ , at least. 

This was her favorite part of the cabin vacation - not necessarily the sleeping together part, since Nino snored (loudly), but definitely spending this much time with him was satisfying. With all that was going on, she was afraid she’d been neglecting their relationship, but here he was, as constant as the tides, and completely understanding. _Well, as understanding as he can be with only part of the picture._

She really needed to find a way to repay Adrien for this. And there would be plenty of opportunities for that, if he and Marinette really have gotten together. Who knows Marinette better than her, after all? Adrien will _have_ to come to her for advice on Marinette sooner or later. And knowing his tendency for big, showy gestures, it would be sooner rather than later.

For now, Adrien was taking Marinette out to the resort, leaving her and Nino in charge of the cabin while they were gone. What exactly they were going to do there, Alya had no idea. She couldn’t bring herself to care about it, though - she was just happy those dorks had found their way to each other. 

_Adrienette has set sail. Now if I can just make Ladynoir reality, my little shipper heart will be full…_

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You were, as always, the pinnacle of grace, my lady.” To add flourish to his statement, he kissed her hand. She may have gotten used to it as Ladybug, but there was something so very different about it when they didn’t have their suits. 

Fighting down the blush, she shook her head. “If grace means ‘I fell on my butt a lot while trying to ice skate,’ then yeah, I am full of grace.”

Adrien opened the door for her and continued, “True, but every moment you were on your feet was like poetry in motion.”

“What, were you watching me every moment?” Banter with Adrien, of all people, became much easier when she realized she’d already been doing it for over a year now. There may not be masks to hide behind, but their easy camaraderie was still there.

“It was hard to take my eyes off you.”

“Back at you, hot stuff.” Just as planned, a blush slowly blossomed over his face and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. 

Any additional teasing trailed off as they noticed Alya and Nino were sitting on the couches in the living room. An excited greeting died in her throat as Alya turned around in her seat, lips pressed together in a thin line, and eyes set in a steely stare. 

“You two need to watch this.” 

Dropping their equipment by the door, Marinette and Adrien leaned over the back of the couch to look at Alya’s phone, where a video had been paused at the beginning.

“This was from yesterday. Nadja managed to get most of the fight on film. Apparently, there has only been one protector of Paris for the last week. And this last one… well, just watch.”

“We’re at the scene of Hawkmoth’s latest attack on Paris, where a giant topiary snake is rampaging through the city! There is still no sign of Ladybug, Chat Noir, or Rena Rouge, but Truesight has been spotted engaging the monster.” 

Marinette winced as she heard her alter ego’s name be spoken. To her shame, she had been so caught up in everything else, she had forgotten to check in on Paris. At her side, Adrien’s face contorted into a mask of dread. Not a moment later, she realized the reason for his concern as the full meaning of Alya’s words set in. _Oh God! Truesight has been alone for the last week. All three super heroes went on vacation at the same time!_

“As strange as it sounds, the snake akuma victim - whose goals and motivation remain unclear - has actively avoided attacking anyone except Truesight himself. Is this victim seeking revenge against Truesight? Is Hawkmoth specifically targeting the knight of Paris? More to come.” 

Alya jumped ahead through the video. “Then there is just a few minutes of them running to the next spot.” In a single frame, the scale of the snake was made apparent as it slithered through the streets, displacing cars that it dwarfed and navigating its way through buildings that it could easily look over if it raised its head. 

Truesight was spotted by Nadja reloading his crossbow and peering over an upturned car. Marinette saw a bandolier over his chest filled with purple powder, wondering where she had seen that familiar substance before. With a surprising amount of courage for someone unarmed and unprotected, Nadja ran up to him.

“Nadja Chamack, don’t be bemused, it’s just the news!” She turned to face him, whose impassive metal helmet gave no impression of what was going through his head. “Truesight, can you tell the people at home your theories about this akuma victim?”

His response was gruff and brief. “There isn’t one.”

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Not to question your expertise on the matter, but there is very clearly _something_ making a mess of Paris.”

“Aye. And it is completely inhuman, and certainly Hawkmoth’s doing. The only victims here will soon be Parisian bystanders if this fight doesn’t end quickly.” His helmet swiveled to look in her. “So get out of here,” he growled as he began to step into the streets to chase after the snake monster. 

“The people deserve to know what is happening in this city!”

Shoulders slumped as he looked over his shoulder at Nadja. “Is there anyone waiting for you at home?”

“I- Yes. My daughter, Manon.”

“If not for your sake, then Manon’s. _Get out of here_.” Without waiting for her response, he charged into the streets, ducking from cover to cover. 

Nadja stared after him, lips pursed for long moments before remembering the camera that was trained on her. “We’ll be back soon, viewers.”

Again, Alya jumped forward in the video, skipping over compilations of other news anchors attempting to cover the action. “Right, then the camera goes dark, but it picks up again twenty minutes or so later.”

When the video began playing again, they had a high vantage view of the leafy snake. Apparently Nadja took the advice of ‘get out of here’ and interpreted it to mean she had to climb to the top of a tall building overlooking the monster curling around itself in an open plaza, head checking each of the entrances into the area. Streaks of black mared its bright green leaves.

“Wait, where did those-” Marinette’s question was immediately answered when a spear of lightning slammed into the creature, causing it to emit a shreech that sounded like a hundred branches creaking against each other all at once. The perspective quickly changed, disorienting her briefly as the camera whirled the find the source of the electricity. 

Standing in the middle of the road was the unmistakable form of Truesight. As they watched, he popped the cork off a vial. The gesture he made reminded her of when he pulled the dark magic out of the recently de-akumatized man who had attacked the museum. The powder flowed out of the vial and his arm drew back as if he were throwing a javelin. The dark purple dust sparkled briefly in the sunlight before transforming into crackling lightning, which he then threw at the snake as it charged him. 

Something was lurking behind Nadja’s narrating as Truesight stood his ground against the monster. Eventually, Nadja heard it to and stopped talking, letting them hear what it was clearly. 

He was singing. The song was in a language Marinette couldn’t understand, but it was guttural and booming. Despite understanding none of the words, she felt it light a fire in her heart as the song reached its crescendo just as the first contact was made. She didn’t know how he managed it, but he continued to shout the chant even as he evaded attacks and sneaked in stabs of his own. 

The music was only silenced when a flick of the snake’s tail sent him flying through the air, impacting heavily against the stone of a building. Silent and unmoving, he slumped against the fractured wall as it slithered closer to him, opening it’s fanged maw as if preparing to eat him whole.

“No…” She pried her eyes off the spectacle to look at Adrien. Tears were running down his face, eyes wide as he watched events unfold. Taking his hand in hers, she turned her attention back to the video.

Just as the monster seemed about to sink it’s fangs in him, he sprung to life, song pouring out of him as he stabbed his sword into the beast’s eye. Reflexively, the monster bit down and thrashed, taking Truesight with it. The death throes grew weaker as the body of the snake became less solid. The melting form changed color from green to purple, before finally ending as a large pile of dark purple ash. On top of this pile sat the torn, bloody, and dented form of Truesight. Feebly, he gripped his sword and thrust it at the sky, disappearing with hardly a sound.

The video ended, showing recommendations for similar clips and discussions. One prominently featured the words ‘Truesight: Dead or Alive?’ in its thumbnail. 

In the pregnant silence that followed, Marinette asked, “Has… has anyone seen him since?”

“No. But it’s only been a day. He’ll likely be recovering, if… well.” _If he survived_ , Marinette finished in her head. 

“ _Dude_.” Nino shook his head in disbelief. “What has been going on? Where was everybody else?”

“I don’t know,” Marinette lied, “I just don’t know.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marinette didn’t sleep well. Partially because of her fears about Truesight, but more because of Adrien’s tossing and turning. Instead, most of the night was spent holding each other, waiting for the morning to come and them to head back to Paris. They had transformed for the first time in days, trying to contact their mentor through the use of their communicators. The silence on the other end did nothing to quell their fears.

Without anything better to do, they packed everything they had taken with them, checking and double checking. By six in the morning, exhausted and depleted, they threw their things in the back and took up the seats they had made the long journey down in. Marinette managed to keep herself awake for a while with her sketches, but it didn’t take long for Adrien to fall asleep pressed up against her. His soft, rhythmic breathing began to lull her to sleep as well. Cuddled up against him was better than her warmest blanket. Before the first stop they were both out cold. 

They did not dream, instead comforted by the embrace of oblivion.


	23. Home Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang returns to Paris, anxious to discover what has happened to Truesight.

Collapsing onto his bed - the one in his too-large room, the one that he shared with no one - Adrien was a worried mess. He supposed, in theory, he should be concerned that neither his father nor Nathalie have contacted him yet. Technically they should be here, even if he hasn’t seen them since he got back an hour ago. On the other hand, it wouldn’t surprise him if they had left him alone in the house while they were out of town working. What was shocking to Adrien was a lack of a new schedule for him. His present agenda was almost at its end, leaving him with just a week or so left before he would technically be completely free - which is the opposite of what his father would want. So where’s his new calendar?

He knew that all of that should probably worry him, but instead he found himself thinking about Truesight. Their mentor had done remarkably well in their absence. No less than three akuma had shown up while they were gone, and each one had been brought down. Granted, none of them where as monstrous as the ones they had gotten used to fighting, but it was impressive all the same. 

The video played through his head again, snapshots of the battle he had missed. Thrown like a ragdoll against a building. Crumpled motionless while the creature descended on him. The feeble way he’d lifted his sword to escape. The patrols he’d apparently started up in their absence coming to an abrupt end. 

Plagg’s voice cut through his thoughts. “Kid, Truesight will be fine.” Adrien shot him a dubious look. “Eventually,” Plagg conceded. “But he IS still alive, I can tell you that much.”

“He’s going to be so mad at us, Plagg.” Adrien choked up. _He’d have every right to be, of course. All of the miraculous heroes leaving town at the same time? It had been so selfish of him to put his love life ahead of the safety of Paris. How could Truesight forgive them?_

“Yeah, no. I’ve known him for a long time, and I’m sure he won’t be angry at _you_.” Despite his own insecurities, Plagg’s emphasis on the word ‘you’ got him curious. _Who else would he be mad at?_

“What do you mean?”

“All his anger is gonna be saved up for Hawkmoth. I almost feel bad for him.” Plagg scowled. “Then I remember poor Nooroo and I don’t feel so bad anymore.”

“I don’t know, Plagg… He got hurt pretty bad because I just _had_ to take everyone on a trip.” It had been a shock that Marinette was Ladybug, if only because he should have seen it earlier. After a good night’s sleep, it hadn’t taken long for the pieces to fall into place for Rena Rouge’s identity. 

“I’m telling you, kid. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

Adrien pulled out a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket. The note torn out of Marinette’s sketchbook simply said, ‘9pm tonight. TS?’ He had nodded confidently to her, eager to check up on Truesight, but only once he was alone had these fears and doubts started coming out. With a sigh, he reflected that he really didn’t like being alone. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------

Stooped over and bleary-eyed, Marinette entered the bakery. Most of the trip home had been a rough sleep, but the last hour or so had been making plans in secret, and growing concern over Truesight. Despite the exhaustion she felt, she put on a smile and dropped her bags as her parents rushed up to hug her.

“Marinette! It’s so good to see you again! The house has felt so quiet since you’ve been gone!” Her dad lifted her up bodily in a hug.

“You missed out on so much, dear! But then, I’m sure you have plenty of stories to tell of your own.” Sabine gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek and a loving smile. “We’ll close up early so we can get caught up. Business has been slow today anyway.”

After a quick detour to her room to drop off her luggage - where she wanted nothing more to collapse onto her familiar bed - Marinette arrived in the living room, where her parents were already seated on the couch. 

Predictably enough, after she told them all about the interesting things she did over vacation - excluding her new relationship with Adrien, she was saving that for when she was better rested - the conversation turned to her parents filling her in on all the strange orders and notable characters that entered the bakery while she was gone. It didn’t take long to cover, since the weather had often been bad enough that they didn’t get much traffic to the bakery. Yet, they seemed almost vibrating with excitement, which was her first hint that someone especially noteworthy had walked through their doors. But they refused to tell her outright.

Her dad gestured excitedly towards her. “Go on, try to guess who came in.”

“Um…” Well, they were acting like it was someone famous, which wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. Besides having some of the best stock in Paris, they have had some renowned customers in the past. She took a stab in the dark. “Jagged Stone?”

“No, but you’re on the right track. It was someone almost everyone in Paris has heard of.” Her mother took a sip of her tea.

“Clara Nightingale?” They shook their heads. “The mayor?” 

“Nope! Are you ready to give up?”

It went against her very nature, but she agreed. After all, she needed to finish this conversation sooner rather than later if she wanted to leave a message for Rena Rouge in time for the meeting.

“Truesight.”

Marinette’s mouth fell open in shock. _Was he looking for me? No, he couldn’t have, he knew I wouldn’t be here. Why did he show up here, then?_

“I know it must be surprising. Before this week you’d never see him outside those akuma battles. But you’d start seeing him throughout the city, and a few days ago I looked outside the window to see him standing in the pouring rain. We invited him in, chatted a bit, and sent him back out with a bag of treats.”

Marinette smiled in pride. Her parents were always so happy to help, especially when it came to the protectors of Paris. Curiosity wormed its way into her head. _Why was he here then? Was it really just chance?_

“So… what did you talk about?”

“Nothing much, really. He mentioned covering for Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Rena Rouge.” Worry crept into his voice as he turned to his wife. “I hope he’s okay. That fight looked really rough…”

Her mother touched his cheek lightly. “I’m sure he is, Tom. People like Truesight don’t stay down for long, and I refuse to believe he… died in that fight.”

Marinette made a show of stretching and yawning into the ensuing silence. “Sorry. Do you mind if I go to my room? This last day has really been exhausting.”

“Of course, dear. We’ll call you down when dinner is ready.”

Once she was alone in her room, Tikki floated out to meet her. 

“Tikki, why do you think Truesight came here?”

“He might not have had a reason. Maybe he was just drawn here by the familiar energy.” A sparkle of mirth reached her eyes. “Or maybe it’s just because Alric has a sweet tooth almost as big as mine.” She giggled. “He could have just followed his nose here.”

Marinette giggled with her before remembering the video she had seen. “...Do you think he’s okay?”

“He’s alive - I know it. But…” Some of the confidence drained from her face as she looked at the ground. “...I don’t think he’ll be able to fight with us for a while.”

Tikki’s words helped alleviate some of the worries that had been weighing heavily on her, but all this still brought up questions she hadn’t had to confront herself just yet. A lot of the burden of command had been lifted off her shoulders when Truesight arrived, which was greatly appreciated as their team grew. But now? She felt it all return again, and heavier than it had been before. She remembered the words Truesight had spoken to them months ago - the bearer of the Ladybug is often the leader of the miraculous. Was she up to that task? With Hawkmoth more than willing to kick them at their lowest point, willing even to kill them? And what about the Great Enemy? They still didn’t know a lot about them, yet apparently Hawkmoth could throw them at Truesight.

Marinette winced, but clenched her jaw to fight down the worry. She needed to keep it all together. Adrien is taking it much harder than her, and Alya is probably worried out of her mind since she isn’t fully in the loop. 

“All the more reason to visit him tonight, then. We at least owe him that much, right?” Tikki meet her eyes and nodded. “Let’s get our message to Rena Rouge then. Spots on!”

\-------------------------------------------------------------

Running across rooftops, Alya finally had some space to think. She cared for her friends and family - she really did - but occasionally she needed some time to herself. Alone time which she wouldn’t be able to get in a household of six. After dropping off her luggage, she went out for a walk and became Rena Rouge. 

The cold rush of air as she rushed through the city was oddly reassuring, and helped give her perspective. Watching Truesight get the living hell beaten out of him had been a wake-up call. While she certainly felt bad for him, and was worried about him, it reminded her just how real this fight was. Hawkmoth seemed perfectly willing to kill them if it got him closer to his goal - intellectually, she had understood that, but this made it very real. 

She jumped when her flute began ringing. Sliding open the secret compartment, a screen with Ladybug’s face appeared before her, and Alya felt herself straightening out and trying to put on a more professional face. She didn’t know where the others had been, but they were Ladybug and Chat Noir - surely they had good excuses. _But where was I, when one of our own was fighting alone? On vacation. I’m the one they called in for help, and I took the week off. Some hero I am._

“Rena! Good to see you. We were going to meet up on the Eiffel Tower at 2100. Can you join us?”

 _Was that all-business tone just Ladybug being the dutiful hero she was, or was she upset with my absence?_ “Sure!”

“Great. We’ll be going to visit Truesight, just so you know. I… I haven’t heard from him, so brace yourself for the worst, alright?”

“R-right.” 

“See you then. Bug out!” 

The screen went dark, leaving Alya alone once again. She stared out at the city, laid open before her.

\-------------------------------------------------------------

The last dregs of sunlight had long since faded over the horizon when Adrien had landed on the Eiffel Tower. In the past year, he had spent long hours alone at this spot, above the city that he protects, a part of it, but separate and removed. He cared for it, but... he had spent so long locked away, brought out only to be paraded in front of others, that it was hard to feel like he was truly a part of it.

Until now, at least. Marinette was his strongest tether to reality - one of the few people in his life he could claim cared about him for him, not because they were paid to or because of celebrity worship. And despite his early arrival, here she stood before him. A greeting died in his throat at the concern in her eyes as she watched him. He remembered that he didn’t have to pretend to be okay around her and let himself open up. 

She stepped forward to gently wrap her arms around him. She murmured comforting words into his chest. “He’s going to be okay, kitty, you’ll see. We’ll get there and he’ll offer us a drink and tell us all about what happened in Paris while we were gone and everything will be just fine. Okay?”

He didn’t trust himself to say anything, instead nodding as he returned the hug. _How did I ever get so lucky to have her come into my life?_

After a few minutes of holding each other, they stood apart and sat on the edge of the Tower. They didn’t have long to wait, with Rena arriving just before their planned meet up time. 

She announced herself by clearing her throat, drawing their attention to her. She refused to meet their eyes, instead looking at the ground and tightening her grip on the bouquet of a variety of flowers she had brought with her. 

Feeling more confident, Adrien waved at her and gave a faltering smile. “Hey, Rena. How’re you holding up?”

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t here!” She covered her mouth with her free hand, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

Adrien blinked in surprise as Marinette quickly stood up to put a comforting arm around their friend. Slowly, he followed after her, placing a hand on Rena’s shoulder. 

“We weren’t here either. We all share the blame. For now, all we can do is be here for each other.”

Rena shook her head and pulled back. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. I can’t bear to look at him right now. Not yet.” She shoved the flowers to him and leapt away. 

Taking a step forward to chase after her, Adrien was stopped when Marinette grabbed his arm. He looked back and she shook her head.

“I knew she’d take this badly, but I didn’t think it would be this bad.” Marinette sighed. “She’s always been the motherly type, always watching out for her friends. And since she is in the dark about our absence…”

“...She doesn’t know we’re just as guilty.” 

“Not how I would’ve phrased it, but yes.” She tugged on the arm she was still holding. She spoke quietly, gently as she prepared to leave the Eiffel Tower. “Come on. Let’s not keep him waiting, okay?”

\-------------------------------------------------------------

It wasn’t long before they found themselves detransformed in Master Fu’s shop. Marinette held Adrien’s hand tightly - despite being scared herself, she knew that she needed to be strong for his sake. He had taken the news of the fight the worst, and needed all the support she could muster. They made their way to his living room, finding Master Fu seated at his low table, sipping at tea with a newspaper in front of him. The old man looked between them with uncertainty. Eventually, he gave a small smile and seemed to choose his words very carefully.

“Greetings, young ones. How can I help you today?”

Tikki and Plagg emerged from their hiding places to float in front of Master Fu. 

“Sorry, Master, but we felt that now was the time for their identities to be revealed for the greater good,” Tikki said.

Sighing, he replied, “I will trust your judgement, even though the dangers have only worsened. This is another layer of protection removed from us, especially since we are more vulnerable with Truesight incapacitated.”

At her side, Adrien perked up. “So Truesight is still alive?”

“Yes.” He leaned back and took a sip of his tea. “It is comforting to know that the legends concerning him were not exaggerated. We will need his strength and vitality in the fights to come.”

“Is he awake? Can we visit him?”

“You can visit him, though I am uncertain if he is awake at the moment. You are free to check in on him if you wish.”

Marinette exchanged a look with Adrien and nodded, leading him towards the secret passage. A pungent odor that she couldn’t quite place assailed her when she landed. It left an almost medicinal taste in her mouth that she didn’t like. Beside her, Adrien was rubbing the back of his neck and looking around their mentor’s living space. In the opposite corner, the spot where his bed was had been concealed by curtains hung from the ceiling. She watched his eyes be drawn there almost magnetically and his resolve began to visibly crumbling.

“Maybe… maybe we should come back later. He probably needs more time to recover and-”

“Hello?” A voice croaked from the other side of the curtains. “Who approaches?”

“It’s us, Truesight. We’re here.” Marinette finished her statement by pulling an unresisting Adrien towards the cordoned-off space and pushed aside the curtains.

In other circumstances, there are several things that Marinette might have noticed first. The muscles of his bare chest and arms, for instance. He was clearly strong, but he was lean rather than buff - more like a sprinter than a bodybuilder. Or perhaps she would have noticed the scars first. Almost every inch of visible flesh - which at the moment meant his abs to his neck, and all over his arms and hands - was covered in old scars. Most were a faint web tracing a pattern across his skin, but some were ragged and dark, like the one that ran a rough line along his abdomen. 

But she noticed none of those things first. Instead, she saw the bruises that covered his body, the worst two being particularly painfully looking ones centered on his left shoulder and the left half of his abdomen. She caught notice of the swollen eye and the labored breathing, the latter likely only worsened by a broken nose. In the months that she had known Truesight, she had never known him to be still by choice, yet it was clear he had not moved much from this spot. Despite all this, he wore a smile as he looked at the two of them through his one good, though bloodshot, eye. 

“I am glad to see you two, it has been quite the week. Hey… It seems you two have revealed yourselves. This pleases me. Fu can go on all he wants about safety and security, but when it comes down to it, trust cannot be built off of secrecy.” He leaned forward the slightest amount conspiratorially. “And I’m sure this makes romance an easier game to play.” He chuckled which turned to groaning as he gripped his stomach. “It was painful to watch that mutual pining.”

“Your injuries-” Adrien tried to interject, only to have Truesight’s face brighten up and interrupt him.

“Impressive aren’t they? I think this one in particular,” he lifted his left arm to show a long cut down the length of his inner arm, “will make a fine addition to my collection. Quite the story to tell, yeah?”

“N-no, well yes, I guess, but what I meant was… Are you going to be okay?”

“Aye, lad, you don’t need to worry about me. It’ll be a rough couple of days, but soon I’ll at least be walking again. A few weeks and I’ll be right as rain.” He seemed to sense Adrien about to continue down that path of questioning and asked, “How were the mountains? Clearly much transpired there. You two can barely stand to be apart, I see.”

It was impressive how well he coaxed the story from them, all the while avoiding any discussion of his own state of health. Once they got to the reveal, Plagg and Tikki had settled on Truesight’s pillow next to his head and began adding their parts to the story. Including the parts that had not been told to their chosen.

“So I had Trixx help out with some illusions, but way more importantly, I got him to convince his chosen to set the scene with a bunch of horror stuff throughout the day.”

“Plagg…” Truesight chidded, but there was a faint smile on his face.

“Oh man, you should’ve seen them, Alric! The great heroes of Paris jumping at shadows.” He snickered and caught the glare that Marinette was pining on him. “Lighten up, pigtails. It was all good fun.”

“Really? I suppose you won’t mind me having some fun of my own then.”

Plagg’s grin vanished. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll see.”

“Well, regardless of how it happened,” Truesight cut in, as Plagg continued to glance worriedly back at Marinette, “I am glad that you two can be happy together at long last. It is satisfying that it occurred on a cold mountain.” He chuckled and stared off into the distance wistfully. Or at least as best as he could, given his positioning. “It almost makes it as if I were there, at least in spirit.” 

This confused Marinette. “I… don’t follow. What do you mean?” 

“Hm…?” He returned to the present. “Oh! My apologies. I hail from a land of snow covered mountains. Such places remind me of the home I left behind so long ago.”

“You don’t talk about your home very much. Did you not like it?” Adrien pulled up a couple a chairs. 

“I loved my world, and my homeland. But I must live with the fact that I can never return to my home, nor my world ever again. This was a one way trip, and I knew it when I set out.” Truesight clenched his jaw as he stared at the ceiling. Truesight held up his arms, slowly and painfully. “These injuries will heal. Sooner rather than later, I’m sure. But the knowledge that I can never go back? That I will forever be a stranger in a strange land? That is the most painful wound of all.”

The silence hung heavily over them as Marinette tried to wrap her head around it. _Could I have done it? Could I leave behind France and all my friends and family? Could I leave behind Adrien? All for the sake of doing the right thing?_ She didn’t have a response to those questions, so she asked a new one.

“We saw you throw lightning during your fight. I thought you said magic was gone?”

“Mostly, yes. But the Great Enemy has been returning, and I have been diligent in hunting them. I render their only partially real forms into pure, solid magic and store it. Granted, it takes time for their malevolence to bleach from the dust, but… It feels good to wield powers I once took for granted, even if only for a moment.” He shifted uncomfortably before continuing. “I fear that I hadn’t left them alone long enough, however. Some of the corruption got into my system, and has been slowing my recovery.”

“Oh, is that why you left the fight in such a hurry? To treat the corruption?” 

“To be honest, I was afraid I might die. And it is vitally important people don’t see their heroes perish. Heroes inspire hope, but seeing them fall provokes despair.”

Adrien paled and he placed his face into his hands. “I’m so, so sorry we weren’t here. This is all my fault…”

“Kid, come closer.” Adrien seemed uncertain, but did so. Truesight smacked him in the back of his head. “The only one at fault here is Hawkmoth. None of us could have known how far he’d be willing to go, especially when it didn’t involve the Ladybug or Black Cat miraculous. All in all, I’d say we came out of this wiser and stronger than when we went in.” He sighed. “It’s like my scars, yes? My people believe that scars are things to be proud of, because it shows others where the world attempted to destroy us, yet we refused to break. Bend, perhaps, but never break. This last week has made us bend, but we emerge unbroken.”

“But Hawkmoth is still out there, as powerful and mysterious as he was a month ago, or a year ago! At the same time, he knows to strike us at our most vulnerable and is perfectly willing to try to _kill_ one of us!” Marinette calmed herself down with visible effort. Adrien seemed worried at her outburst, but Truesight wore a smirk.

“He has allies. We know this. The only reason he even managed to get this far is he has brought in help. I don’t know how they know anything about these powers, but it proves there is more to this than Hawkmoth.”

“That just means we are becoming outnumbered.”

“We can call on others. Sadly, Master Fu is unwilling to release another miraculous. It will take a major threat rising before he will allow another into play.”

“And what about Hawkmoth’s allies?” Adrien looked between them. “Isn’t that something to worry about?”

“Yes and no. Sure, he is getting a boost in power, but even so he couldn’t beat me. He is getting sloppy - I felt his pain as I struck the akuma. He doesn’t know what he is getting himself into, and that is making him vulnerable. We can outlast them. All it takes is one mistake by him… just one.”

“Couldn’t the same be said for us?” Marinette asked. “I mean, if we fail to beat one akuma, then we lose, right? Hawkmoth would have our miraculous.”

“That would be a major loss. A string of mistakes and failures rather than just one.” Truesight did his best to sit up slightly. “I have high hopes about our odds. We just need to be vigilant and exploit any weaknesses Hawkmoth shows. I fully intend to repay him for this personal attack against me.”

The conversation turned to more mundane topics, Truesight simply happy to listen to them talk about their lives rather than dwell on his injuries. Marinette left in a better mood, but it didn’t take long for worry to creep back in. Despite his words to the contrary, Truesight was in bad shape. Most of the blame rested at Hawkmoth’s feet, but there was plenty to spare for them. Reluctantly, Marinette said her goodbyes to Adrien and they each made their way to their homes. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------

As it turns out, Adrien didn’t see Nathalie nor his father until the following day, and even so all she had to say to him was that he ought to return to his studies as quickly as possible. It took two days for Nathalie (let alone his father) to speak more than a few sentences to him, and even this was just to inform him about an event he would almost certainly be required to attend. As always seemed to be the case, this news was broken to him over lunch.

“Your father has graciously decided to sponsor a masquerade party at your school.” She spoke to him without looking up, fully invested in whatever she was working on with her tablet. 

Adrien was surprised, but that almost went without saying. Gracious was not a word he could really apply to his father, except in an ironic way, like saying ‘the king has graciously decided to only cut off one of your two hands.’ Yet, on the surface, this did truly seem to be a gracious act. Surprise gave way to suspicion as Adrien wondered what the catch was.

“I see,” Adrien said slowly. “Can you tell me more about this party?”

Begrudgingly, Nathalie looked up to give him an impassive stare. The silence lingered just long enough that Adrien began feeling the need to apologize for the impertinence he had shown in asking a question, but thankfully she answered before he could do so.

“Gabriel will be holding a competition for the best couple’s outfit, with the winner getting free Agreste merchandise. It goes without saying that you will be excluded from winning the competition, but this is merely a formality since you do not have a significant other regardless.”

Fighting down the urge to correct her - for now - he instead asked, “And what does the school get out of this?”

“A reasonable decoration budget for the festivities, as well as a generous donation to the school itself.”

He nodded along. Between his father and Chloe, he was very used to people throwing money at their problems to get them to go away. 

Returning to his plate, he asked in passing, “So how long until the masquerade?” 

This might actually be a nice surprise, for once. After all, now he’d get the chance to ask Marinette on a proper date and she could take her time to make a truly awesome couple’s outfit.

“Two weeks from tomorrow.”

Adrien almost choked on his food. “What?! Why?”

Raising an eyebrow at his outburst, she replied, “It had to be on a Friday to ensure the students would not exhaust themselves for class the following day. It is also late in the school year, Adrien. There was not many Fridays left of the semester.”

“I suppose, but this is a large thing to spring on people at the last minute…”

“He could have chosen next week. He is being very generous with his choice, given the circumstances. Now finish your meal before it gets cold.” 

There was no arguing with that command and he was soon back in his room. An uncertain excitement bubbled up inside him. He was happy for the excuse for a date, but he also didn’t want to spring a large project on Marinette out of the blue. Staring up at the ceiling, he decided that he would sleep on it before asking her. There would always be other opportunities for romance, after all. Ones that _don’t_ involve such a massive undertaking.

\-------------------------------------------------------------

“...And that’s the situation we’re in.” Alya finished. There was a chorus of nods from the others in Marinette’s room, her girl squad of Rose, Juleka, Mylene, Alix. 

“Any idea why Gabriel Agreste decided to do all this?” Marinette asked, buying time. Based on what she knew from Adrien, Gabriel seemed to enjoy springing things on people at the last minute.

“No one knows for sure, but everyone has been too excited to really care,” Rose said. “Besides, it all seems like such a fairytale, doesn’t it? A mysterious patron throwing a ball out of nowhere?” She closed her eyes and leaned into her girlfriend, pushing her further against the head of the chaise they were sitting on.

“Is that why you pushed so hard for it to be fairytale themed?” 

Without opening her eyes, Rose replied, “It isn’t my fault no one felt as passionately as I did about it, Jules.”

“What? When did all this get decided?” It can’t have been announced that long ago. She was hoping she’d at least have the opportunity to help decide the theme.

Alya pushed her glasses up before responding. “Well. It seems that Gabriel announced it sometime late last week, and our dear classmates held a meeting on Saturday to figure it out. They also voted you as the organizer for this.”

“I would love to be surprised, but I’m really not. I’m actually kinda looking forward to it, I don’t really have any projects going at the moment.” _And I could really use something to get my mind off everything that’s going on._

“That’s great! If you feel that way, could you help me and Juleka with our costume?” Rose blinked up at Marinette, giving her the best puppy stare she could muster.

Alya stood protectively in front of Marinette. “Woah there, Rose, she’s my best friend, and I call dibs.”

Gently pushing her aside, Marinette said, “It’s alright, I can do six costumes no problem.” _I hope._ “I’ll probably need help with organizing if I do that, though.”

“There might not be a lot for you to do,” Mylene said. “Nathaniel and Marc already have some sketches done for posters and decoration. Max is managing the budget-”

“And don’t forget _Chloe_ is hiring catering out of pocket!” Alix interrupted before crossing her arms. “This new nice kick she’s on is really freaking me out.”

“Maybe she’s finally turning a new leaf!” Mylene took in the disbelieving stares of the other girls, Marinette and Rose aside. “But, you know, for real this time.”

“Yeah, maybe. Or maybe it’s just cuz Adrien got pissed at her again. Once she’s back in his good graces she’ll drop the act.” Alix stretched out on the floor before tilting her head up at Marinette. “Hey, did you say you were making six costumes?” She held out her hand, holding a finger up for each name. “Rose, Juleka, Alya, Nino, you, probably. Who is mystery number six?”

As nonchalantly as she could manage, Marinette replied, “Oh, that’s my date for the masquerade.”

The room was completely still for a single moment before each girl (Alya excluded) was talking over each other with theories and questions.

“Can’t be any of us.”

“Is it Nathaniel?”

“No, he’s dating Marc, remember?”

“But who else is there?”

Rose beamed at Marinette, “Are you going to ask Adrien? That’s _soooo_ romantic!”

“As if! We haven’t had a convoluted plan introduced to us yet, so it can’t be Adrien.” 

Marinette pouted at Alix. She’d been getting better in the last few months. Surely it wouldn’t be _that_ hard to believe that she could ask him out without freaking out?

“For your information, I don’t _need_ to ask out Adrien. We are already _dating_.”

Silence again.

A high-pitched screaming was heard. It bypassed her ears to go straight to her head, and for the briefest of moments Marinette thought there might be an akuma. But no, it was just Rose, shaking with visible excitement as she threw herself at Marinette to hug her. She pulled her around in a circle in a lopsided dance.

“Oh, I just _knew_ you two were bound to get together! You were simply made for each other!”

There was cheering and congratulations from the others.

“That’s great! I’m so proud of you!” Mylene joined in the hug.

“Nice.” Juleka gave her a thumbs up and a nod of approval.

“So how much stuttering and sputtering was involved?”

Marinette looked at Alix over Rose’s head and held her chin up high. “I’ll have you know I only stuttered a little bit, and that was only after we-” She froze, which got everyone to look at her. “After we, uh, we…” she finished in a tiny voice, “...kissed.”

“Atta girl!” Alix got up to punch Marinette’s shoulder, grinning widely all the while. “I knew you had it in you, even if it was deep down.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell us!” Rose gaped at her wide eyed from just below her chin.

“It only happened earlier this week and I’ve been getting used to being back...”

“No excuses!” Rose returned to her tight hug, squealing with excitement. “I’m so happy for you! It’s all so… so… _romantic_!”

Giggling while patting Rose on the head, Marinette looked between her friends and all the encouragement they were showering her with. With their support, she felt like there was nothing she couldn’t do. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------

Classes picked up again the following Monday and that was also the start of a new tradition for Adrien - getting dropped off at the Dupain-Cheng bakery rather than at the school itself. It might not be much, but he’d take every extra moment he could get with Marinette. Besides, now he could finally ask her out properly to the masquerade. After giving it some thought, he realized she would be more than willing to take on the extra challenge, and the opportunity was just too good to pass up. 

This perfect plan was running through his head, only to be immediately thrown off its tracks by the one thing he couldn’t have prepared for: Loving parents.

“Oh! Hello, Adrien. What brings you here so early?”

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. _How much has Marinette told them?_

“H-hi. I’m here for Marinette.”

“Oh. Oh!” Sabine smiled. “Don’t worry, dear, Marinette told us all about you two. She was very excited, you know. Why, she’s been pining after you for quite a while now…”

Adrien listened in rapt attention, feeling his heart warm at the description of a love sick Marinette. It made him look back on the time they had wasted yearning after half of the each other, never realizing they were right in front of each other the entire time. At that moment, Adrien decided that there would be no more wasted time. After parting with Sabine, he excused himself up the stairs to Marinette’s room. Once he heard a grumbled, “Come in!” from within, he opened the hatch and entered.

His decision had been made under the pretenses that Marinette wasn’t super busy at the moment, since they just got back. But here she was, sewing a new dress with the rest of the room a mess of fabrics and crumpled designs. Tikki waved at him from the mirror she was perched upon, and he waved back. He frowned. _Maybe this wasn’t the best idea after all?_

No. He was committed. Stepping closer, he hugged her from behind and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Good morning, bugaboo.”

Staying mostly focused on her work, he nonetheless saw her smile as she replied. “Morning, sunshine.”

“So I’m sure you’ve heard about the masquerade-”

“Oh, did you want to discuss costumes? Fairytale is kinda a broad genre, so we’d have a lot of leeway, but I didn’t know if you had a specific preference for anything. You’ll have some time to think about it will I work on the other costumes.”

_Did she… did she just skip the whole asking out part of the date? Is that allowed?_

“Uh…”

“Yeah, I could use some extra time too.” She shook her head. “Your dad sure knows how to put everyone in a squeeze. Everyone’s stressed trying to get it all done in time, but I think we’re up to the challenge.”

He could do nothing but nod in agreement. After a few moments of watching her work, his stomach began to rumble. “I’ll, uh, wait for you downstairs while you finish up then.” 

“Wait! I almost forgot something.” He turned back and she rushed into him, pressing her lips against his. She sighed against him. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this. Now go get some breakfast you starving boy.”

Now blushing furiously and slightly weak in the knees, Adrien returned downstairs to buy himself some food.

“Hello again, Sabine. How much would some chocolatines cost?”

She seemed scandalized by the very idea. “We are _not_ charging Marinette’s boyfriend for food in this household, young man!”

“O-okay. Could I have some chocolatines then, please?” 

As he began nibbling at the treats, he got into a pleasant chat with Sabine. There weren’t many adults in his life that he could open up to, so it came as a pleasant surprise how easy it felt to talk with Sabine. Eventually, the conversation meandered into the topic of the upcoming masquerade party. 

“Marinette asked me what sort of costume I wanted, and I honestly didn’t know. I didn’t even know the theme until she told me.” He finished his chocolatine. “I feel like I’ll end up being the prince. Which is okay and all, but I tend to get stuck with that role a lot whenever something like this comes up. A little diversity would be nice, you know?”

Sabine’s eyes lit up. “I might have exactly what you’re looking for.”


	24. The Masquerade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rushed preparation spearheaded by Marinette struggle to make the masquerade the best it can possibly be despite the short notice.

“Really? What is-”

Before he could finish, Marinette had rushed past, grabbing his arm on her way out. “Bye, mom! Come on, Adrien, we’re going to be late!”

Adrien threw a helpless look over his shoulder at Sabine, who simply smiled and waved at them as they left. “I’ll have it ready when you get your lunch break, sweetie. Have fun at school!”

They dashed across the street and into the building, making it into the classroom with scant minutes to spare. The fact that they entered at the same time did not go unnoticed - Rose was practically vibrating in her seat with excitement, Alix nodded knowingly, and even Ivan gave him a thumbs up. _Was everyone hoping we’d get together…?_

_I suppose not everyone_ , he realized as he spared a glance across the aisle at Chloe. She was pointedly glaring forward, glowering. To his immense surprise and relief, she was fuming _silently_ rather than taking out her anger on the rest of the class. Which, for her sake, is a good thing - if he was protective of Marinette before their reveal, he was doubly so now that he realized the two people he cared for most in the world were actually the same person twice. He wasn’t about to put up with Chloe’s bullying of other people any more. 

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to face his girlfriend. The very thought that he could call her that brought a smile to his face, which seemed to surprise her, if the blush was any indication. He could see Alya looking smug out of the corner of his eye, but his attention focused back on Marinette as soon as she started talking.

“What were you and mom talking about? What is she getting ready?”

“Well, she-”

“Okay, class, ready for the kind words of the day?” Ms. Bustier’s voice cut through the chatter of the class, and Adrien could only shrug apologetically as he turned back around to face the front of the room. 

\---------------------------------------------

Marinette didn’t have long to wait before she was walking back home hand in hand with Adrien. _My boyfriend_ , she had to remind herself. Everything had moved so quickly, none of it felt real yet. It was like drifting through a pleasant dream. But that only made her worried about waking up. She rubbed her arm absently where she had asked Tikki to pinch her a few times in the last couple days. With all the akumas they faced, one that sent her into a dream world wouldn’t be too far fetched.

_Then again, in a dream world, Truesight wouldn’t be bedridden and Hawkmoth would be caught._ She pushed thoughts of their injured mentor aside. Truesight had said he would be fine, and she had to believe that. Because if he wasn’t… if he didn’t recover…

The ringing bell on the door brought her back to the present as Alya and Nino rushed ahead of them to pick up lunch, her dad already striking up a conversation with her friends. Since Marinette was planning on spending all her lunches for the next two weeks working on the masquerade costumes, they had all decided to eat at the bakery to keep her company. Thinking about it brought a smile to her face, and she squeezed Adrien’s hand tighter. 

“Oh! Let’s go see if Sabine has it ready.” He began dragging her past the store front and into her own home.

Laughing, she replied, “You haven’t even told me what ‘it’ is yet!”

“To be honest, I’m not exactly sure either. But if your parents are anything like you, I’m sure it’ll be awesome!” Marinette followed behind, too preoccupied fighting down her blush to resist.

They found her mom in the living room, taking a break just before the lunch time rush. Motioning for them to follow, she walked past them as they entered the room.

“It took some digging, but I found it. It’s a bit dusty, of course, but with your skills, dear, I’m sure…”

Wide-eyed, Marinette took a step forward to gently take the slim red and gold dress from her mother’s hands. 

“Mom… this is so cool! How long have you had this?”

“Years and years. My grandmother had made it for me when I was visiting family in China. I must’ve been about your age when I wore it last, but it was made with such care I couldn’t bear to get rid of it.” She smiled at the dress. “I had completely forgotten about it until Adrien mentioned fairytales and costumes and breaking free of expectations. How better to do that than to leave the West entirely?”

“You’re the best!” Still holding onto the dress, she hugged her mother, giving her a kiss on the cheek in gratitude. “But… you’re sure I can use it? I’m going to have to make changes, and I don’t want to ruin something you’ve kept for so long…”

“Dear, I know that whatever you do to it, you can’t ruin it. You are too good a designer for that. Besides, a dress is meant to be worn, not kept locked away forever. Make the most of it.”

Marinette placed a hand on her heart, touched by the faith her mother had in her abilities. “Thanks, mom. I’ll do my best!”

“I know you will. Now, I’d better go help your father out front. Good luck to the both of you!”

Once she was gone, Marinette stared appraisingly at the dress, then gave Adrien a good long look. Once he noticed the staring, he had the audacity to strike a pose, which made her both blush and roll her eyes.

“Cool it down, hot stuff. Come on, let me make some sketches and see which one you like best.”

She spent the next hour having Adrien hover over her shoulder, watching her draw with rapt attention. Despite how long it took, he never seemed to lose concentration, being consistently fascinated with her process. By the fourth design, his eyes lit up with giddiness and she knew without him saying anything that they had found the theme for his costume.

\---------------------------------------------

That was the last time they’d spent any significant amount of time alone with each other. Adrien was sure it wasn’t intentional. After all, her face still lit up whenever he took her hand unexpectedly, and she never complained when he would stop by her house in the mornings and follow her home during lunch. That didn’t change the fact that they never had more than five minutes alone together.

Obviously, they still stole tender moments between classes, but otherwise they were constantly around other people. The lunch break he had expected to give them the most space turned out to be the busiest time for her. During class, they could sneak each other messages and have semi-private conversations, but during lunch she had a rotating cast of people coming into her room to talk with her. Alya and Nino, he had expected. Rose and Juleka had been more of a surprise, but Marinette was making their costumes too, so it didn’t come as too much of a shock. But then Max had come in a couple times to talk about the set up of the party. And Nathaniel and Marc had show up a few times in the first week to get their designs approved by Marinette. 

As Adrien watched from the background of the most recent interruption, he was kicking himself for not realizing that Marinette was Ladybug sooner. Maybe it was just because everytime she was around him she fell to pieces - which did wonders to inflate his ego and bring a smile to his face. But this? This was her natural environment. Not just designing, even though she was superb at that. No, she was a natural leader. She held a quiet confidence around her, and you got the sense that people would be willing to go above and beyond if it meant not disappointing her. Just like she would be willing to do for them. 

He knew she hadn’t been like that forever. He remembered the pep talk he gave her on the cusp of their first victory, back at the beginning of their partnership. Was that strength always lurking under the surface, or did she put on a braver face than she felt? Frowning, he looked more closely at Marinette as she talked with Juleka. 

She was sketching, always a good sign, but it was mechanical. Her entire focus was zoomed in on to the design. Her smile was just a bit too wide to be real. There was a pain behind her eyes that she was trying to hide.

He had been determined to keep her company before and this realization only increased that desire, but maybe she needed something more than someone floating around her. Maybe she needed someone to talk with, to help share the burden that she stubbornly tried to carry by herself. He squirmed in place, uncertain if he should wait for Juleka to leave before broaching the topic, but the choice was taken from him before he could do anything. His phone vibrated and sure enough it was Nathalie informing him that the Gorilla was coming to pick him up for dinner.

If the decision had been in his hands, he’d simply spend every dinner at the Dupain-Chengs. At least _they_ didn’t leave him to eat alone almost every day. But the decision wasn’t his to make, so he grabbed his bag and got up. Marinette raised her head to look at Adrien. 

“Leaving already?” She said with a hint of sadness.

“Father wants me over in time for dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He placed a kiss on her forehead. “Goodbye, Mari.” He locked eyes with Juleka on his way out.

“Uh, a wave goodbye will be fine, thanks.” Adrien froze for a moment before sharing a laugh with Juleka, and waved to them as he left. 

Half an hour later, he had dropped his bag off in his bedroom and was sitting at his designated spot in the dining room. In the corner, Nathalie was working on her tablet and the Gorilla had just entered the room to lay out two plates filled with food. Which was par for the course - Adrien would eat his food, and his father’s would be heated back up and sent to him in his study. 

The same old routine got derailed the moment Gabriel Agreste walked into the room and sat down nonchalantly, as if this was something he did everyday. 

Without looking up, his father quietly said, “Stop gawking, Adrien, and eat.”

Jolted out of his stupor, Adrien did just that, suddenly becoming very invested in the food on his plate. Belatedly, he realized that this might be the first time he’d met with his father face to face since getting back from vacation. He sifted through the past couple weeks but came up with nothing. Even news about the party and its rules had been given to him through Nathalie. Granted, he didn’t see him a lot anyway. It was still weird to go so long without even bumping into him over the course of the day. This curiosity drove him to look at his father out of the corner of his eyes, and he noticed how stiffly he moved. 

As if he were in pain.

“Father, are you alright?” He blurted out. “I-I mean, you look like you hurt, and I haven’t seen you around and, uh-”

“I’m fine, Adrien, don’t get hysterical. Finish your plate.”

Against his better judgement, he let concern outweigh obedience. “It’s just, you look like you can hardly-”

“I said I’m FINE, Adrien.” 

The sudden, angry outburst left him shocked into submission for a few minutes, the only sound being the clinking of forks against plates. Desperate to change the subject and take advantage of the rare face to face conversations he had with his father, he decided to bring up some good news.

“So… father… about the trip to the cabin-”

Gabriel cut in, “I take it you got the break you so desperately needed?”

“Of course, father.” He paused to collect himself. Maybe his father hadn’t meant it, but to Adrien that question had carried an almost accusatory tone. “Do you remember Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”

“The fashion-forward young lady that you designed a dress for? Of course.” He paused to take a sip of the red wine near at hand. “I presume she took full advantage of the cabin’s facilities.” 

“Ah, uh, actually since you mention it-” His father grimaced in pain and Adrien paused to watch him worriedly. “Are you sure I can’t get you some pain killers or a pillow or-”

“Don’t be ridiculous. But if all you’re going to do is interrogate me over trivial nonsense instead of letting me enjoy my dinner, then I ought to go attend to other matters-” 

Seeing the moment slipping away, he spoke as quickly as he could, “MarinetteandIaredating!”

“...I see.” He dabbed at his lips with a napkin, face perfectly neutral. Already, Adrien felt fear gnawing at him. “And I take it this is not a topic open to discussion?”

“I…” Of all the scenarios Adrien had imagined - many of them prominently featuring hugs, pats on the back, and general familial excitement - this was not one he had anticipated. “No, I wouldn’t say that it is.”

“Very well. I will have Nathalie contact the girl’s family to schedule a dinner with them.” Gabriel’s breathing became shallower. “You will keep Nathalie and the Gorilla informed of any outings…” he clutched his abdomen, a faint shimmer of sweat on his forehead, “...and you will not allow this relationship to interfere with your work or your studies. The girl may not be prepared for our way of life but perhaps with time- agh!”

As Gabriel doubled over, Adrien rushed over to his side as Nathalie took quick steps to lay a comforting hand on the older man’s back. 

“Father! You need help! What did you do?!”

His head whipped up to face Adrien, his eyes burning with anger, but his voice icy cold and quiet. "While you were gone, son, Nathalie and I were rather busy. The Gorilla was with you, frolicking in the Alps with your girlfriend. So when a large akuma attacked Paris while we were en route to a meeting, we had very little protection. I was hit by some flying debris, and ended up rather badly bruised. And because the ever GALLANT heroes of Paris never turned up, I was never healed."

Adrien swallowed, a difficult action due to the guilt that was choking him. “Father, I…” 

“I'm glad you enjoyed your vacation, Adrien. Your life is _very_ stressful, after all. It's not as if I've afforded you every luxury and advantage you could ask for, all from the blood, sweat, and tears i put into my work.” Adrien winced, and lowered his eyes. “I will be retiring to my quarters for the evening. Good night.”

He took the dismissal for what it was and retreated to his room while Nathalie helped his father to up the stairs. Only once he had closed the door behind him did he let himself fall apart onto the bed, too drained to even cry.

\---------------------------------------------

“Sir, I’m not sure if that was the best way to handle that situation.” She closed the door to his study behind her as he stumbled his way to his seat, fumbling for his pain medicine. Despite nearly two weeks passing since the battle that inflicted the wounds, recovery had been slow.

“Perhaps, Nathalie, but at least now he won’t question it further. I had to come up with something on the spot, and between his fussing and the pain, I wasn’t left with many options.”

“Without a doubt, sir, but that wasn’t what I was referring to.”

He screwed his face up in concentration, swallowing a pill with swig of water. “What else would- Ah, you must mean the fact that he has selected a girlfriend.”

“Yes, sir. Treating it as another matter of business may not have been the ideal solution.”

“Nonsense. He didn’t even have the good graces to inform me promptly. I had to make due with a subpar situation - not to mention the fallout this will have on the spring line when word gets out among his fan base.” He waved his hand as if to brush aside the issue. “Besides, they are young. This… infatuation will last perhaps a few months and no doubt she is simply a star struck child. Soon enough, Adrien will realize that and break off the relationship. For now, we play along to humor him.”

“As you wish, sir.” 

“How is the plan going?”

“Not as well as anticipated. They have adapted remarkably well to the stressful situation, despite our best efforts. Even the competition and stringent deadline hasn’t seem to have had as much impact as we would have liked. Still, we will see how things turn out once the party begins.”

He nodded. “I see. You are dismissed, Nathalie.”

\---------------------------------------------

Marinette held the design that had been handed to her with a healthy dose of skepticism. There was nothing inherently wrong with it, of course. Besides being a bit on the bland side of things, but given all the other costumes she knew about, some normalcy would be a welcome change ` of pace. No, what made her skeptical was that it was a design _Chloe_ had handed to her. And she wasn’t here to force her to make the design, oh no - she was here to get Marinette’s honest opinion about it. Despite the aloofness that she was trying to convey, Marinette could tell that she was nervous and uncomfortable. 

Then again, that might have been the daggers that her mother had been staring at Chloe as she had come into the bakery. Regardless, Marinette wasn’t one to turn someone down when they ask for help, especially not when it came to fashion and design. 

“It’s not bad, not bad at all. Although now I’ll be helping with two Cinderella-based designs…” She mumbled to herself.

Chloe, who had been staring out the window to avoid eye contact, whipped her head to face Marinette. “WHAT? Someone else is going as Cinderella?!”

_Ah, there is the familiar Chloe._ Outloud, she said, “Mhm! Mylene and Ivan are going as Cinderella and Prince Charming.”

“No, that won’t do at all,” Chloe said while shaking her head. Before Marinette had the opportunity to roll her eyes at her diva-ness, she adds, “I guess I’ll have to find something else to go as, then.”

“R-really?” 

“Obviously. This is a masquerade, after all. It would be ridiculous to have multiples of the same costume.” She pulled out a fine black box. “Here, I won’t need these for my Plan B. Give them to Mylene or whatever. I don’t care.” 

Bewildered, Marinette sat in her room and watched Chloe leave, nose held haughtily high as usual. She opened the box and found beautiful pieces of jewelry inside. Maybe not as expensive as the opals Adrien had gotten her, but Mylene would certainly be excited to wear them. Regardless of the source. 

She shook her head. She was disappointed that she wasn’t able to incorporate his gifts into her design, but she had gotten the double piercing so she was at least ready to use them whenever she got the opportunity. With a final glance at the jewelry box Chloe had left her, Marinette got back to work. There was only a few days left before the party and while Chloe had a legion of designers at her command, Marinette had only herself to put the final touches on Adrien’s suit jacket. 

\---------------------------------------------

Adrien arrived early, eager to be both out of the house and closer to Marinette. His entire costume fit like a glove, which came as no surprise to him. After all, everything else she made was an excellent match - why not the costume she had designed from the ground up? Sadly, he wouldn’t have the satisfaction of seeing her reaction to him all suited up, since he had already put it on for her a couple of times during the process of making it. Her parents, however…

“You look so handsome, dear!” 

Sabine was walking in circles around him, trying to get a sense of the entire suit. There was visible excitement and pride in her eyes, mostly because of her daughter’s handiwork, but certainly also because of how obviously it was inspired by her Chinese culture. While the costume was clearly based on a Western-style suit, the suit jacket shone with blue, green, and purple metallic circles of fabric that caught the light beautifully. It was lengthened into a tail with a royal purple interior, matching his similarly colored tie. The jacket mirrored the colors of his antlered mask, which completed the overlook look of an Eastern dragon. 

Rubbing the back of his neck, he replied, “Thank you! But most of the credit belongs to Marinette. I didn’t have much to do with this besides wear it.”

“And I’m sure she’ll consider that reward enough for a job well done. I’ll go see if she’s ready.” Sabine disappeared up the stairs, leaving Adrien and Tom alone to chat while they waited.

He had to admit, he had been nervous about today. The discussion with his father earlier that week was still weighing heavily on his mind, putting a damper on everything else he had been doing. Then there was the party itself. Marinette had put a lot of work into it, either directly by making outfits and accessories for people, or indirectly, like when she went in after school yesterday to direct the efforts of Ivan, Kim, and a couple other volunteers in setting everything up. She had poured a lot of herself into this project over the past two weeks and he worried about not being up to expectations. 

Those feelings bled away as he joked with Tom. Things would be alright. Maybe tonight he and Marinette could finally have some alone time. After all the time they had been given in the cabin, it was a shock to suddenly have none whatsoever. As anxious as he was to talk with her, he knew that she needed the same sort of support, and could use the relaxation time. 

Sabine hurried down the stairs and into the living room where they were seated and took a seat herself. Just as Adrien was about to ask if Marinette was ready, Sabine gestured with her eyes to the stairway where Marinette was, for lack of a better word, gliding down.

While she had seen him in his outfit plenty of times, the opposite didn’t hold true. So when his attention was drawn by the clicking of her red high heels and he finally saw her in all her finery, he could do nothing to stop his jaw from dropping. 

The skirt of her dress was full, but the silk silhouette bodice was more reminiscent of a traditional Chinese dress, creating a drop waist effect. The entire attire was crimson, though the organza of the skirt was a brighter red. The forearm-length sleeves and high neckline were trimmed in gold. Delicate images of flowers, leaves, and dragons were rendered in flowing gold thread, a much stronger testament to her heritage than the suit Adrien wore. He took a few steps towards her, taking in her dark hair fixed into a bun and held in place by a pair of ornate hair sticks. While he had gotten used to her bluebell eyes staring at him through a mask, this golden one with red glass gems over the cheeks was a far cry from her Ladybug disguise. She scrunched the wide-ended red tabard trimmed in gold in her hands, hesitantly looking up at Adrien and back down again. 

“You look amazing,” he whispered in a reverent awe.

She smiled and finally met his eyes. “You don’t look too bad yourself.”

Bowing, he took her hand and brought it to his lips noticing the gold bracelets on her wrists while he did so. “Shall we be off to the party, my Lady?”

“We shall.” They attempted to make their dignified escape, only to have their route out cut off by a hulking mass of Tom.

“Now hold on there, you two we need to take plenty of pictures to mark this special day.”

“Daaaad…” 

Ignoring his daughter, he called out to his wife who had left the room without Adrien noticing, “Honey? Did you get your camera?”

Hurrying back, she brandished her phone, “Yes!”

The facade of grace fell away as Marinette hunched over, moaning, “Mom, dad, we need to get to the party!”

Her protests were in vain and for the next fifteen minutes, they were stuck striking poses, having what felt like hundreds of pictures taken of them. Eventually, they managed to escape, mainly because her parents were too teary-eyed to stop them any more. They exited the bakery and started to make their way across the street to the school. 

“I’m sorry about that, my parents can be a bit… much.”

“I think it’s sweet." His voice dropped to a murmur. "Way better than my father’s reaction at least.”

She whirled her head to face him, the red beads that dangled from her ears jangling as she did so. “What did he do?” 

He was surprised at the protective anger he heard in her voice. “Well, uh, he-”

“Dude! Nice threads, man!” 

As Adrien and Marinette passed the threshold of the school, Alya and Nino had made their way over to them. Adrien had seen parts and pieces of their outfits, of course - he had been at Marinette’s side for large chunks of her work periods, after all. But this was his first time viewing the finished products. 

They had gone for a mermaid and pirate theme, with Nino being the merman and Alya being the pirate captain. Nino wore sparkling turquoise trousers that imitated the scales of a fish, a seaweed vest, and a mask made to look like a starfish. He pulled Adrien into a hug.

Over Nino’s shoulder he saw Alya circling Marinette, who struck poses to both of their amusement. Her outfit was far less ornate as theirs, resembling more a high quality pirate costume than a dress, with the added accessory of a simple black mask completing the look. 

“Look at you, girl! I had high expectations for you, and you went way past even that!”

“Thanks! And you’re doing an awesome job pulling off the pirate queen look!”

Turning his attention back to Nino, they pulled apart to take in each other’s costumes better. 

“Forbidden romance between the two sides of the ocean?”

Nino grinned. “You know it, dude.” He looked Adrien up and down. “A badass princess and her dragon bodyguard?”

“What else could we have been?” He laughed and they rejoined their girlfriends, making their way to the main area of the party.

The gym had been fully transformed into a ballroom, decorated by the best supplies Chloe could buy and the most dedicated workers the class could provide. There was sparkly black and white drapery everywhere, roses placed on every table, and a painted background of gnarled trees at the top of which sat a foreboding castle. The background - which would be used for photo ops - Adrien vaguely remembered from a much smaller version that Nathaniel had shown them a week ago. When he saw the sketch, Adrien hadn’t expected it to end up so large and lovingly detailed. Adrien’s eyes followed the path to the staircase decorated to look like a grand manorial staircase - which he personally helped with by showing his classmates the one in his house and donating some time to the fabrication. The couples participating in the contest would make their way to the top of the staircase when the time came, to be announced like in a real ball and present themselves to the judges.

For the moment, the open space reserved for dancing was empty, with most of his classmates skirting around the edges. They especially hung around nearest to the snack table which, unsurprisingly, was also where his friends were crowded together, staking their spot nearest the punch bowl. Adrien frowned. Something needed to happen to really start this party off. A song came on over the speakers and gave Adrien an idea. With catlike grace, he got behind Marinette and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the center of the room.

“Adrien,” she hissed, “What are you doing?!”

“Hey, Marinette.” He grinned back at her. “Want to dance?”

She gave a panicked look around the room, noticing that they were becoming the focal point of everyone’s attention. 

“Hey,” He whispered as he gently pulled her chin to have her face him, “Don’t pay any attention to them, okay? It’s just me and you here.”

“I don’t know any formal dances!”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m here, Mari. Just follow me.”

After a few awkward steps, Marinette’s eyes were trained on the floor, carefully following Adrien’s footsteps. He couldn’t help but smile as he watched her confidence build until she could finally look up, letting his training take over as he got lost in her deep blue eyes.

“What?” She giggled.

“Hm…?”

“You’ve got this dopey look on your face.”

He pulled her closer to himself as the song switched for one with a slower tempo. Their dance at this point was simply holding each other as they slowly spun in a circle. As other couples joined them on the dance floor, he whispered to her.

“That’s called being in love, my lady.”

The sputtering confirmed his hope that she was blushing fiercely, but he couldn’t see it himself since her face was buried in his shoulder. She held him tighter. “...Silly kitty.”

Time passed without Adrien noticing, the world having fallen away and leaving just him and her floating along in a warm haze. Eventually, the song ended and replacing it was a far more lively and energetic one. Still in a pleasant fog, he simply followed along as Marinette lead them into a more active dance. He knew that even if he tried he wouldn’t be able to stop smiling.

\---------------------------------------------

Gabriel was watching his son take center stage, as was his birthright. As was usual for these types of events, he was having Nathalie be present while he watched from her tablet. After all, he needed to be ready in case his plan somehow worked. Despite his best attempts, the students had taken all the stress he had dealt out far better than he could have anticipated. It was a barren ground for his akuma to take root, but there was still the contest itself to look forward to. . After all, competitions had often succeeded in providing the negative emotions he required to create powerful villains. 

This was a move of some desperation. He did not enjoy putting Adrien anywhere near danger, but by excluding him from the running, he should have avoided any bitter feelings from whoever broke under the pressure first. With how weak his akumas had been in the last two weeks, he needed something to help his press his advantage. They must still be reeling from the loss of Truesight, and he intended to capitalize on that. Yet, it seemed as if there were no negative emotions present for him to feed off of.

Returning to the present, he watched Adrien and his apparently-secret-only-to-his-father girlfriend dance. It was then that he noticed something different in Adrien’s smile. It wasn’t the one he wore while in his presence, nor was it the same one that appeared in the finished product of his many photoshoots. The difference was the same as the one between a flower in a field compared to one that has been pressed in a book. There was just something _alive_ and _more_ about the way he was looking at the girl. Sighing, he pinched his nose in irritation. He was starting to realize this wasn’t going away any time soon.

Adrien dipped the girl, much to her surprise if the squeak was anything to go by. He pulled her back up to him and it suddenly hit Gabriel how _happy_ his son was in this moment. The realization cut through the cobwebs in his mind and struck him with an almost physical force. It was the happiest he had seen him since… well… before the incident. 

With this new perception, his instincts took over and he scanned their outfits, only now realizing that despite their excellent quality, they weren’t one of _his_. Irritation at his son - the heir to the Agreste empire - not wearing his namesake clothing line was pushed aside as he further appreciated the designs and their execution. _Perhaps she would be a fair fit for our way of life after all…_

\---------------------------------------------

“I... I need a break after that. Geez, Adrien.” 

The boy in question chuckled as Marinette made her way to the refreshments, taking a seat at a table set up against a wall while he did so. He would have offered to get their drinks and snacks himself, but the moment he tried to do it, she sent him a heart-stopping glare that made him swallow that idea. Instead, he watched her walk to the punch bowl, only to be stopped as she spoke with Chloe, who was wearing an Alice in Wonderland inspired dress. He glared as they chatted.

“It’s weird, isn’t it?”

Adrien jolted at the voice so close to his ear. He turned to see Sabrina seated at the table next to his. She was also looking at Chloe and Marinette talking. 

“Y-yeah, I’ll say.”

“Then again, I guess that’s how this all got started, right?”

Adrien sent her a puzzled look which she failed to notice.

“Ever since they talked that first time, Chloe has been acting really strange. Not that I don’t like this new direction she’s taken, but it’s just _weird_.” She finally turned to look at him. “Did you know she hasn’t let me do her homework for like a month now? I mean, yeah, she calls me for help, but she doesn’t just let me do it for her anymore.”

“ _Chloe_ passing up on the opportunity to have someone do her work for her?”

“Right! It’s crazy, but I guess whatever Marinette had said really got through to her.”

“When did they-”

Chloe’s sharp voice cut through their conversation. “Sabrina! Where are you?!”

“Oh! Sorry, gotta go. It was nice talking with you, Adrien!”

Adrien stared bemusedly after her, making a mental note to ask Marinette about it later. For now, he wanted to simply enjoy this time with her - as much for her sake as for his.

\---------------------------------------------

Leaning forward to rest her head against her propped-up arms, Marinette carefully watched Adrien speak, only barely managing to pay attention to what he was saying. Her own thoughts were crystallizing into a new revelation and she couldn’t be happier.

It was finally starting to sink in for her that Adrien was Chat and Chat was Adrien. She could see him in his entirety for the first time since she has known either side of him. He wasn’t just Adrien - he had the mischievousness of Chat, his love of puns, the wild way that he embraced life. But there was more to him than just Chat as well. He had Adrien’s patient kindness, his doting way of caring for his friends, his instinct to spoil those he cared about. The two halves that at first seemed so wildly different now fit together perfectly into this wonderful, flawed person.

As he took a sip from his drink, she let out a content sigh. It felt good to unwind. She hadn’t realized how tense she had been for the past couple of weeks - a tension that was surprisingly mundane in its origins. It was just her trying to make a last minute event work without a hitch, working so hard to get all these projects done. 

She looked over towards Juleka and Rose in the middle of the room. Their Red Riding Hood and Big Bad Wolf costumes had been fun to work on, especially since each wanted to do their own unique take on the roles. For what it was worth, Rose made for an adorable wolf - even if her only real concessions to the wolf were the ears and tail. Juleka was a badass Riding Hood, even if the ‘red’ part was lacking. But hey, purple and black were just as good, right? Their requests had been a challenge, but one she had relished. She was very pleased with the end results which reflected their wearers so well. 

Staying busy had felt good, but she wasn’t sure where they would go from here. Things had been remarkably quiet, excluding a couple of feeble akuma attacks. Her reflection on Hawkmoth’s weakness were interrupted by the music cutting out and a cold voice coming over the speakers.

“We will now be judging costumes. Participants can form an orderly line at the base of the stairs, and climb them as they are announced. Good luck.” 

It seemed that Gabriel had exactly the gift for public speaking that she would have expected from a genius recluse. Which is to say, none whatsoever. It didn’t particularly surprise her either that he had chosen to arrive in tablet form. At least the other two judges had arrived in person. Still, it wasn’t entirely normal, since Mr. Damocles had decided to arrive in his the Owl ‘disguise,’ leaving Nadja the odd one out with just her business attire. 

As Myelen and Ivan went up the stairs in their Cinderella and Prince Charming costumes, Marinette felt a twinge of disappointment that she couldn’t participate in the contest. She understood why Gabriel had done it and for once she agreed with him. He shouldn’t play favorites if he is a judge, and the prize is for Agreste merchandise anyway - not exactly something Adrien or her would have much use for. Still, she wanted to put her costume in the running just to see if it could win. 

_At least I have some designs in the race_ , she mused as she looked at Rose, Juleka, Alya, and Nino’s outfits. 

The judging took a little over half an hour, between going over each costume and deliberations. Nadja stood at the podium to announce the results. 

“In third place is the merman Nino and the pirate queen Alya!”

Marinette clapped along with everyone else, both in support of her friends and pride in her work. Third place wasn’t bad at all, and it at least meant that it had caught the eye of a skilled fashion designer. Even if she didn’t like how he was as a person, there was no question about his abilities.

“In second place is Kim as Peter Pan and Ondine as Wendy!”

The pair walked up to the stage, Kim practically strutting in his green tights. Even without any attachment to their costumes, Marinette cheered with the rest of them, happy that her friends were getting the recognition they deserved. They had even done the entire work on their own. Apparently Ondine had some hidden talents in the field of cosplay of that they made use of. It was something Marinette would keep in mind if she ever needed a pair of helping hands for a bigger project. 

“And now what you’ve all been waiting for… the first place prize and all it’s free merchandise… goes to…” Marinette leaned forward as Nadja paused for dramatic effect. “...Big Bad Wolf Rose and Red Riding Hood Juleka!”

As the applause reached its climax, she felt a hand squeezing hers and followed it to Adrien’s brilliant green eyes. She couldn’t hear him over the cheering, but she could see him mouthing the words ‘awesome job’ to her. Her only response with a grin back, too excited that her design won both the first and third spots to be able to make a suitable reply. Eventually, the cheering died down, and the dancing resumed as the contestants returned to the ballroom floor.

Nino and Alya made a beeline for them once they got off the stage. Both Alya and Marinette reached for each other to get a hug.

“Girl, you did amazing! All your hard work really paid off.”

“Thanks, Alya. And my outfits wouldn’t have gone over nearly as well without excellent models to show them off. Congratulations on placing!”

“Trying to follow in my footsteps, bro?” Adrien held out a fist for Nino.

Laughing, he replied, “Sure, dude. And who knows? If I’m not careful maybe I’ll be taking showers in the middle of akuma attacks too. Gotta keep up appearances.” 

“It happened _once_!” They shared a laugh at Adrien’s pouting, even as he looked to Marinette for back up. 

Still giggling, she patted him on the cheek. “It’s alright, we love you anyway.”

They sat and talked for a while longer, but people had already started to leave. Soon enough, the converted gym was nearly empty and the four of them decided to head home. At the door, they split off from Alya and Nino, saying their goodbyes. A short trip across the street later and the two of them were standing in front of Marinette’s doorway, facing each other.

“I had a blast tonight, Marinette, and it’s all thanks to you. I don’t think it could have been pulled off as flawlessly as it was if it weren’t for everything you did. You’re just… amazing.” 

“Thank you. Honestly, if it weren’t for you keeping me company as often as you did, I think I would have cracked under the pressure. This is as much because of you as it was me.” She held her hands together and looked at the ground, already feeling a blush forming on her cheeks. “And you’re pretty amazing too, Adrien.”

When she looked back up, it was because he was stepping towards her, leaning in to press his lips to her cheek. At first she was disappointed, despite how it made her heart race. Then she remembered what a romantic he was, and how he was trying to do this ‘right’ - in other words, slowly. She took a step towards the door, hovering a hand over the door knob. He was still standing behind her, waiting patiently for her to go inside before he left. Suddenly turning back around, she planted a kiss of her own on his cheek and while she was near his ear whispered:

“Go home and change into your PJs. If you're not too tired, meet me back on my balcony in half an hour. We can watch a movie. Maybe cuddle, if you're lucky.” Somehow, she finds the audacity to wink at him, and is satisfied to find him blushing as she turns around and ducks inside. 

Now all she had to do was see if he would actually show up. After getting changed into something more comfortable, of course. From what she knew of Chat, there was no doubt in her mind that she would have a visitor tonight.

\---------------------------------------------

The credits rolled on the movie they were watching, but neither of them made a move to change it. For Adrien’s part, he at least had the completely valid excuse of a pretty girl cuddled up against him, head tucked underneath his chin and ear pressed against his chest. The laptop sat just outside his reach, placed on a platform against the wall. When Marinette spoke, her voice was slightly muffled from her speaking into his chest.

“Do you want to watch another movie?”

“No, I… I think I’d like to just lay here like this for a while.”

Her giggles tickled him by their proximity. “We can’t just sit here in the dark, kitty.”

“Well, maybe we can talk then.”

“What about?”

“You.” At her scoff, he continued, defensively, “What? It’s my favorite topic.”

“You’re a flirt.” She covered her mouth as she yawned. “But okay. What do you want to know?”

His hands absently rubbed her back as he decided how to phrase his question.

“Are you alright?”

“Of course I am.”

“Mari…”

“What? I’m fine.”

“You put on a good act about looking fine in front of others - trust me, I’ve got plenty of experience with that to know. But you don’t need to act strong with me. So what’s wrong?” 

She raised her head to look up at him. “I… It’s not important, really.”

“It’s about you, which makes it important to me.”

“Am I going to have to deal with those sappy lines for the rest of my life now?”

He brushed a hand through her hair, smiling. “Sorry, you’re stuck with me and my _romantic_ lines forever. No take backs.” His smile faded. “I’m going to guess it’s about Truesight?”

Sighing, she rolled off of him to lay on her back and he immediately missed her warmth. 

“...Yeah.”

“We’re all worried, bugaboo.”

“I know. Trust me, I know.”

Something in the way she said it made it all click for him.

“You know, I meant it when I said you don’t have to be strong around me.” He wrapped his hand around hers and gave it what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze. “You’re always there for others. Let me be there for you.”

In the barely-lit darkness, he couldn’t see her expression, but he could hear her sniffling. He tugged on her hand and she rolled back onto him, this time fully burying her face into his shirt. As she began to be wracked with sobs, he wrapped his arms around her and held her in a tight embrace. Tears escaped him as well, between being reminded of Truesight’s close call and the sadness that Marinette had been keeping bottled up inside her. _No wonder she threw herself into the party so whole-heartedly,_ he thought. _She needed to do something to escape._ Enough time passed that there was a large wet spot on his shirt by the time she stopped and scooted off of him to lay on her side, facing him.

“I’m just so scared, Adrien. Truesight is a good fighter and _he_ ended up that badly hurt. What if it’s Alya next? Or me? Or _you_?” 

“It won’t happen, because we’re all together. It’s like what he said about scars, right? Hawkmoth tried his best and failed. Once Truesight recovers, we’ll be even stronger than ever.”

She nodded with wavering confidence. Through her last sniffles, she said, “I’m sorry about your shirt.”

Following her example, he also turned on his side. He replied while doing his best to keep a serious expression. 

“I don’t know how I’ll go on without my bright pink ‘Miraculous Girl’ shirt, but I’m sure I’ll find a way.” His attempt at humor was rewarded with earnest laughter, which proved contagious.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Utterly ridiculous.” The phrase dug up a memory from earlier in the evening. “Oh! That reminds me. Sabrina said that you might have something to do with Chloe’s… I don’t want to say ‘niceness’ but how about ‘reduced meanness?’”

“Um… yeah. I guess so? I didn’t really do much, to be honest.”

“She said something about you two having a talk…?” Despite his efforts to not let it show, a hint of protectiveness had crept into his voice. “Did she try to threaten you over the New Year’s thing?”

“Hey, I’m perfectly capable of defending myself from Chloe if I need to. I’ve got plenty of experience in that.”

He winced. “Sorry I didn’t do anything about Chloe sooner. Friendship means a lot to me, and it was hard to see beyond our past.”

“It’s okay, kitty. But you don’t need to worry. I think you finally got through to her - she came to me asking for help in being nice.” 

“Really?”

“Yeah, I was surprised too. I told her she had to prove it wasn’t just a phase before I’d help her.”

“It looks like she’s actually trying. What are you going to?”

She rubbed her eyes. “I don’t know. I’m caught between wanting to laugh at the ridiculousness of it and cry at how big a task it will be.”

“It sounds like you’re actually considering it.”

“Well yeah. Everyone deserves a chance to redeem themselves, right?” She deflated a little. “I don’t think Alya would go for it, though.”

“I’ve got your back whatever you decide to do.”

“Thanks, that does make me feel better.” She stretched and yawned. “Have you heard about Nino’s movie? He’s going to be holding auditions soon…”

The conversation drifted to less heavy topics, the two of them laying next to each other in the cool darkness. It was strange to think that just over month ago they had finished their disastrous Saint Valentine’s date. He was still kicking himself over breaking Marinette’s heart because of his love for Ladybug. Not that he could’ve helped it at that point, but it was still frustrating to think that their first date went so poorly.

Which got Adrien thinking about the relationship since. _Wait. Have I actually ever managed to ask Marinette out on a date?_ After combing his memory he came up with a solid no. The Valentine's date was her asking and the masquerade had just happened without either asking. They kept talking while Adrien’s realization took a back seat in his mind. Her beautiful blue-bell eyes glazed with tiredness and gave him an idea.

“Marinette?”

“Hm…?”

“We don’t have school tomorrow. Do you… do you want to look for Andre’s ice cream stand?”

She scoots closer and drags one of his arms over her. Obediently, he pulled her into his embrace. 

“Of course I’ll go, kitty.”

Patting himself on the back for a job well done, she fell asleep in his arms and he followed soon after.

\--------------------------------------

“Oh! Alya spotted him on the Pont des Art,” Marinette called out, all traces of tiredness vanishing in a moment as she looked up from her phone. They had set out as early as they could to start their date and while Adrien was used to dawn wake-up calls, Marinette was not.

“That’s not too far. Come on!” Grabbing her hand, Adrien pulled her towards the bridge.

A few minutes later, they saw the famous vendor handing Alya and Nino some of his magical ice cream. “Coconut, banana, and a touch of passionfruit! I am always glad to see return customers. It is like I am watching love take root and blossom before my very eyes!”

“Thanks, Andre!” Alya saw them approaching. “And it looks like you have two more love birds to handle.”

He turned and his eyes widened. “Ah! Sighing Marinette and hopeful Adrien! Do my eyes deceive me? Or have you found each other at last?”

“We have! And we’d love to have our first ice cream as a couple.”

“Yes, of course, of course!” He rushed back behind his ice cream cart. “Peach, strawberry with chocolate chip, and pistachio. Enjoy!”

They said their thanks to Andre as he moved his cart. Alya and Nino joined them as they began to walk through the city. Simply being allowed to roam without a destination in mind wasn’t something that Adrien was used to yet. Regardless, he enjoyed this time with his friends, free from any obligations for the moment. After a couple hours they started to get tired.

“Dude, can we crash at your place for a while? We were after Andre for a while and my feet are killing me.” Alya nodded along.

“Uh, sure. Father is home, but he should be too busy working to pay any attention to us. Maybe we can have Francis make us something when we get back? All we’ve had today is ice cream.”

Alya put a hand on her hip and affixed the two of them with a glare. “Seriously, girl? You live in a bakery and you couldn’t pick something up for breakfast?”

“We were too excited! We wanted to get started on our date as soon as possible.”

Some teasing later and they were walking through the gigantic doors of his home. He herded them into his room before anyone could notice their arrival and made his way to the kitchen. The Gorilla was already there and Adrien asked him to prepare three extra plates of food. If he was surprised, he didn’t show it and only grunted in confirmation. 

Half an hour later, as they were in the middle of a fierce makeshift Mecha Strike tournament, they heard the clatter of metal outside, like someone climbing the barred gates at the front of his house. Locked as he was in mortal combat with Marinette, he couldn’t check it out.

“Nino, can you look out the window and see what that noise was?”

“Sure-” 

They all flinched as the power cut, ending his match prematurely and leaving them in darkness. _Wait. Darkness? It’s still morning!_

The front door opened and slammed shut, the noise finally motivating them into action. The flashlights of their phones did little to push back the unusual shadows and Adrien felt a chilling sense of familiarity. Pushing the feeling aside, he led the way into the entrance hall

Gabriel’s voice sounded from the other side of the room. “What is the meaning of this?”

Their flashlights didn’t reach across the hall, but they didn’t need to. A glowing object - a sword, Adrien realized - was thrust between the handles of the massive door, barring it shut. It illuminated most of the room by itself. Seated in front of it was a gasping figure in armor that glittered in the light.

Truesight gave a quick salute. “Greetings.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for missing the last two weeks! Life has been hectic for my beta and I, so getting this chapter written and edited was a journey by itself. 
> 
> I hope it was worth the wait!


	25. Siege

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the mansion under attack and our heroes under a close watch by friends and family, protection of the Agreste household falls to Truesight.

As their mentor clambered to his feet and approached the group, Marinette felt a wave of relief wash over her. If he was standing, then that meant he was already doing better than the last time she had seen him, bedridden and nearly motionless. As she watched him in motion, she found her elation dampened by a few observations.

To most people, it would seem as if he moved with the same strength and dexterity that he normally did. No doubt, he was still more than capable of holding his own. Marinette, however, had been taught to carefully watch his movements over long sparring sessions. She could tell that Truesight was moving sluggishly, stiffly. The pain was hidden well, but it was unquestionably there. He was still injured, but had forced himself to make the journey to the mansion. What was serious enough to motivate him to act? The familiarity of the situation reminded her of the time the school was attacked. Was this another invasion of the so-called Great Enemy? They hadn't had any trouble with them since that last attack.

“Amazing… many had believed you killed by Hawkmoth’s machinations.” As Marinette watched, his expression of shock faded into a carefully neutral mask. Gabriel folded his arms behind his back as he watched through narrowed eyes. Even with Marinette's limited exposure to Gabriel, his entire body language seemed to scream 'What the heck is happening.'

For his part, Truesight seemed to shrug off this distrust, much like he did her friends’ distrust during the attack on the school. He seemed almost unnaturally chipper. “The reports of my death were exaggerated. Greater foes than Hawkmoth have attempted to slay me and I lived to see their dooms unfold.”

A door creaked open and Francis joined them, taking up position behind Adrien. The colossal bodyguard watched Truesight very carefully, clearly uncertain about his intentions.

This caution was entirely one sided. Truesight walked towards him, tilting his head upwards to meet him in the eye. He put his hands on his gut as he laughed. “Zounds! You remind me of my older brother. He too was a giant of a man. Yet, in all my travels, I have yet to find a gentler soul. I get the feeling we will get along swimmingly, mighty one.”

Francis growled, but she felt as though his stony demeanor was slightly less cold than it had been before. Angling his head back down, Truesight swept his gaze over her and her friends. 

“We really must stop meeting in this way, kids. It is good to see you doing well at least, attack by the Great Enemy excluded.” He cast his eyes around the foyer, as if noticing it for the first time. A whistle escaped his helmet. “And this is quite the imposing manor, I’d say. Certainly not a bad place to be stuck for a while.”

“How do you mean, ‘stuck’?” Gabriel asked. “I had assumed you will be able to fix this relatively quickly.”

“Fix?” Truesight scoffed. “No. This squall of other worldly power should burn itself out quickly. I just needed to be here to ensure they did not gain entrance. We simply need to be patient until then.”

Marinette frowned at that. Not so much at the news that they were, effectively, trapped here since she was in just about the best company she could be in at the moment. No, something just felt… off. Like Truesight wasn’t sharing everything he knew, even if she knew nothing he said was an outright lie. Still, if he was hiding something then she had to believe that it was for good reason - he had earned at least that much trust. She hardly wanted to mess things up if that was the case. 

“Right. Well. I’ll activate our defenses.” Gabriel motioned for Nathalie to follow him and after a moment’s hesitation and a glance at Truesight called after Francis as well. 

Once they had all left the foyer, Truesight relaxed a little. “What an unusual man. I assume he is your father, Adrien?” Her boyfriend nodded, stiffening a little as Truesight approached Emilie Agreste’s portrait. “And this is your mother? Why has she not joined us yet? I doubt anyone could fail to notice the attack.”

“She… She’s gone.”

“Oh. Oh! I’m sorry, lad, I didn’t know.” He coughed awkwardly and took a seat on the stairs. “So, ah, how have the lot of you been? I’ve been out of the loop for a few weeks now.”

“Before we get started with pleasantries, Truesight, I’d like the know why we aren’t searching for whatever portal the creatures are coming through like last time.” Alya put her hands on her hips, but she lacked her usual energy. Marinette knew her friend well enough that it wasn’t the danger that was dampening her spirits, but lingering guilt.

“Because my only means of reliably destroying the portal is being used to keep the enemy off of us.” He motioned towards his sword, occupied holding the door shut. “We wait for the magic to ebb, then we can search without fear of immediately drowning in them. Besides, it is… difficult to get a sense of where the magic is knotting up in this storm.”

“Yeah, about the sword. There are a ton of windows in this place. Why aren’t they busting through?”

“Short answer? Magic.” He waved his hand as if dismissing the question. There was a hint of amusement in his voice, like he was deliberately messing with her.

Alya crossed her arms. “Give me the long answer.”

“Sealing the main entrance with the Oath of the Sun is symbolic of protecting the house. It’s power now shields the entire exterior. They will not find entrance.”

Nino stared at the sword, a small smile slowly dawning on his face. “Totally awesome.”

“I guess this means we won’t be able to find out who the best Mech Strike player-” Adrien was cut off by all three of his friends saying, “Marinette,” with the exception of Marinette herself, who simply said ‘me.’ He held up his hands in defeat. “Alright, alright, I admit she may have had me on the ropes there. But I could have pulled it around!”

“If that’s what helps you get through the day, sweetie.” Marinette gave him a reassuring peck on the cheek. She fake coughed, “Even if I’m definitely the best fighter between us.”

Cutting in before Adrien could spark an argument, Nino said, “Oh, dude, that reminds me!” He looked at Truesight. “What were singing when you were fighting that snake? It sounded way cool!”

“A portion of my saga. It’s a tradition among my people. A reminder that we have endured worse than this, and that whatever we are struggling against will be just another line in the story.”

“That’s pretty sweet, dude. So you were singing about stuff you’ve done before?”

“Aye.”

“Did that verse have anything to do with, say, vampires?”

Truesight snorted. “No, but I get the feeling you want to talk about them anyway.”

Excitedly, Nino replied, “Totally! I’m making a horror flick about them and I want to know what it feels like to fight them.”

As the two of them got into a surprisingly in-depth discussion about the undead, Marinette let herself detach from the conversation. She leaned her head against Adrien’s arm for some measure of comfort as she tried to relax. _They’d be alright, Truesight had them covered. Right?_ Something still felt wrong, something that she didn’t have any evidence of besides gut instinct. For now, all she could do was keep calm and stay watchful. She might not be able to risk transforming right now, but she didn’t need her spots to be a hero. She was drawn from her musings by the door closing above. Gabriel’s voice cut through the lively conversation. 

“The defenses are inactive.”

“Aye, I don’t have a strong command of how technology in this time works, but I understand that it requires caged lightning, and none of that is coming in from the outside.”

“We shouldn’t need any. There is a generator on the premises that is able to provide enough for the lockdown mode. Yet, it is not working.”

“...Is this unusual?”

Letting some irritation slip into his voice, Gabriel replied, “This system, the generator included, is the finest that money can buy. Of course this is unusual.”

“No need to get snippy,” Truesight grumbled as he got to his feet.

“I trust you will discover the source of the issue, Mr. Truesight.” Marinette felt his eyes rest on their group of friends, staring at them icily. Just like when she was protecting the mansion as Ladybug, he had a strange calm about the situation. _Did anything bother him?_ “Adrien, take your friends to your room. The Gorilla will keep an eye on you all while our esteemed guest amends the situation. I don’t want you wandering around putting yourself in unnecessary danger.”

“Father! Why would we split up now of all times? And we aren't any safer in my room than here!”

“Let us be clear that I do not need to explain my reasoning to you. As your father, you ought to do as I say without complaint. Do you understand?” At Adrien's reluctant nod, he continued. “To answer your question, I want you to be where I can find you easily. Your room only has one entrance and plenty of space for you and all the rest. Even without power, the room is exceptionally durable and you will be safest there.”

“But father, if you'd just listen-”

“Adrien, I realize today’s events may have made you… excitable, but you will do as I say. Go to your room.” He attempted to argue, but Gabriel glared and said, “Now.”

Hunching his shoulders, he replied, “Yes, father…” 

Before he could go up the stairs, Truesight stopped him by putting an arm in front of his chest. He didn’t spare a glance towards Adrien, his attention firmly fixed on Gabriel at the top of the staircase. All levity had been drained from his voice, leaving only the sharp edge of authority.

“A word, Mr. Agreste?” Not waiting for a response, he marched up the stairs and into the room Gabriel had just emerged from. With barely any hesitation, Gabriel followed behind the knightly hero, leaving the four of them alone with Francis. 

\----------------------------------

Adrien rushed up the stairs to listen at the door. A glance at the Gorilla confirmed his suspicion that he was pointedly looking away from what Adrien was doing and he felt a surge of gratitude rise up inside him. Sometimes, it felt like the Gorilla was the only one really looking out for him in the mansion. In the process, he noticed his friends trotting up the stairs to join him. Inside, the two men began talking and Adrien did his best to eavesdrop unabashedly. 

“What is it that you wished to discuss?”

“Do you always order your son around or is it simply the danger riling you up? Not a good excuse, but at least an understandable one, if that is the case.” The accusatory tone softened, to be replaced by irritation. “His worry shouldn’t be so easily dismissed.” 

“Adrien is prone to over dramatics, much like his mother. Despite his studious nature, he does not have an appreciation of the dangers he may face in the world. He requires a firm hand to guide him.” The matter-of-fact way that his father said it made him narrow his eyes in anger, but he resisted the urge to barge in and interject. Besides, what would he say? That he was well aware of risks thanks to his akuma fighting? He’d probably demand he give up his miraculous then and there. 

A hand gripped his, pulling him out of the spiteful spiral he was descending down. He looked back to see Marinette's bright blue eyes watching him with concern, her ear also against the door. Flashing her a thankful smile, he resumed listening in. 

“The boy is more capable than you realize. And even if he wasn't, he must learn first hand about the world. Otherwise, he will not grow.”

“Are lecturing me about how to raise my own son?” 

“If that's what you want to take it as. I simply wanted to give you a warning. I know the pain of driving one’s child away through misguided protection and duty. You don’t want to go down that road, I promise you.”

“You can’t possibly imagine-”

Truesight’s icy tone cut through his father’s angry rant before it could start. “Dead wife? Single parent raising a child? All the while trying to juggle responsibilities that both protect the child while preparing for their future?” Adrien struggled to hear the next portion as Truesight's voice lowered to a sad whisper. “Aye, I understand quite well. I didn’t succeed as well as I’d liked, but you can learn from my mistakes. Be there for Adrien, while you still can be.”

The sound of metal armor approaching the door sent Adrien and his friends scurrying for cover. The door swung open, and Truesight seemed to take their sudden appearance at the top of the stairs in stride. As he passed Adrien he patted him on the head gently. For a brief moment, Adrien saw Truesight’s pale eyes through his visor. In them, he saw concern. 

Tilting his head back, Truesight took a deep breath and stood motionless for several long heartbeats. When he spoke, he seemed to be his usual self again. “Though time has passed, I have not sensed a significant ebbing in the dark power surrounding us. Stay close to me. We must go on the hunt.”

Father stepped out into the room, glancing suspiciously at the gathered kids. “You would take us - take my son - into harm’s way?” He placed a hand on Adrien's shoulder as he stood behind him. Despite the light touch, it weighed heavily on him.

“For one who speaks of the dangers of the world, you fail to realize that danger is everywhere. Your giant may be strong,” he nodded to Francis, “but physical might is not sufficient against the enemies we may face. The safest place to be is within arm's reach of me.” He walked toward Gabriel. “I am not about to have blood on my hands simply because you are too stubborn to accept protection.”

The air with thick with tension as the two stared each other down. While his father was strong willed and intimidating to most people, Truesight was something else entirely. His gaze was broken when he looked toward Adrien before sighing. “Fine, Mr. Truesight. We'll do it your way. I just pray you don't lead us to ruin.”

“Apology accepted.” Father tried to sputter something out, but was cut off by him adding, “And it is simply Truesight. Come, let's head out.” He held his hand out and a fist-sized orb of light appeared floating over his palm. It wasn't as good as his sword in rebuking the shadows, but it was better than their flashlights at least. He stepped over to the Gorilla. “Lad, what is your name?”

His surprise at being addressed out of the blue was expressed only in a slight widening of his eyes. Despite his shock, he replied in a low growl, “Francis.”

“Well, Francis, you'll be taking up the rear, so take this.” He held out both hands and Francis quickly held out his below them. Truesight made a motion as if pouring water into the bodyguard's palm, and the light left him to float over the Gorilla's. The orb became less distinct when it swapped hands, as if it went out of focus. The larger man's face became pained as his eyes glazed over for a moment, like he had been passed a heavy load. Truesight placed a steadying hand on his shoulder. After a few moments, he seemed to recover. “Better now? Good. The will and magic requirements for that orb are fairly low, so even the uninitiated can support it. Just don't strain yourself too much.” With a flick of his wrist, he conjured another orb and returned to the front of the group. “Follow me.”

Though the halls were wide, they were only wide enough for them to walk in pairs as they followed him. Adrien took up a spot immediately behind him, holding hands with Marinette. Alya had Nino's arm around her waist just behind them. He could hear the clicking of father's shoes and Nathalie's heels not far past them and he knew that the Gorilla was bringing up the rear. After half an hour of walking, a deep sense of unease had settled over the group, not helped at all by the way the shadows danced in the magical light. 

“This... this isn't right.” There was a tremor of worry to his father's voice that he almost never heard. “The mansion is large, but we should have reached the generator room or _some_ other room by now. No hall in the house is this long.”

Truesight shrugged. “They have their own ideas about our reality and they really don't care what any of us think on the matter, Gabriel.”

The silence returned with their footfalls and the gentle jingling of Truesight's armor the only noise in the building. Even those sounds seemed to get snared and consumed by the darkness like flies in a spider web. A pretty apt analogy, Adrien thought, cursing himself. The very air felt predatory, like something was watching them from beyond the safety of the light. Yearning to take his mind off of the unnatural quality of the atmosphere, Adrien opted to try to strike up a conversation.

“So, uh, Truesight?”

“Aye, kid?”

“What are you going to do if you find one of them?” The question had been rattling around in his head since Truesight showed up and sealed the door. He hadn't noticed a crossbow resting at his side, but from what he knew of the wily fighter, it was never wise to assume he was unarmed. Normally, he'd trust Truesight to know what he was doing, but he really did want to hear human voices again and the hero's voice was up there with Marinette's in terms of comforting. 

“I have a couple daggers on me if it is a lesser spawn. If it is powerful... well, I have a plan that I hope I won't need to use.” He looked over his shoulder as he finished. “But don't worry, lad. You'll all be safe and sound by the end of this. I promise.”

“Speaking of weapons, dude, why don't you have that wicked medieval crossbow you took to class that one day?” Nino asked, seemingly as eager as Adrien was to continue the conversation. Even the brief words they'd exchanged so far was doing a lot to take the malice out of the shadows.

“You took a _crossbow_ into a school?” Gabriel grumbled from the back of the group. Truesight opted to ignore him.

“Kids, I was at home sipping a latte when I just so happened to cast the runes. The portends were clear and dire.” He sighed tiredly. “I barely had time to gird myself in armor – and even so, I arrived just as the Great Enemy did. Tracking down my crossbow or any trinkets would have meant I would have arrived in time to avenge you rather than save you.”

“Was that really necessary to say?” Nathalie asked. “It’s morbid.”

“I don't lie to people about their odds. Which is why you can trust me when I say you are getting out alive.” 

Nathalie didn't have a response to that, or, what Adrien thought more likely, none that she was willing to say out loud. Truesight took up a nameless tune to hum as they pressed onward and while Adrien appreciated the effort, he would much rather continue talking. 

Despite suspecting he already knew the answer, Adrien asked, “So is this like last time? The monsters come through because of the akumatizations nearby?”

Before he could respond, Alya piped up, “Sounds about right. The Agreste mansion is pretty close to several hot spots like our school and the park.”

Nodding, Truesight said, “She is correct. In fact, most of my information about previous akumas has come from her diligent research on the Ladyblog.” Again, he looked over his shoulder to address them better. “Well done on your part, lass. I've been expecting this place to come under threat for a while, but I am surprised that it was so soon. My calculations were pointing towards danger arriving several months from now.”

“What... could have caused this?”

Adrien tilted his head slightly in curiosity. There was hesitation in his father's voice. Did he know something that he wasn't letting on about? He brushed it off as the weirdness of the situation finally getting to him.

“Plenty of things. It is just as likely to be enemy action as it was a simple random swell of power on the other side. I can look into causes later. For now, I'm more focused on dealing with the rupture.”

“I bet things will be easier once the other heroes show up, right dude?” Nino seemed surprised when Truesight shook his head.

“Nay. Hopefully, my kids will stay safe and not attempt to do anything foolish. Breaking through to us would definitely be on the foolish side of things. After all, I've made sure they haven't had to deal with the Great Enemy much at all. Which, in hindsight, might not have been my best idea, but they need to grow into their powers first.”

“Must have been easy to keep them away when this is only what, the second time they've attacked? Three if you count that one monster you killed after class.” 

“There have been about eighteen attacks. Although you are correct, Alya, in that this is only the second major incursion, but I'm not counting those.”

“Eighteen?!” Alya's jaw dropped. “No way! Someone would have seen something.”

Truesight stopped and looked back at her. “Not if I kill the beasts quick enough.”

A keening screech echoed through the halls, prompting everyone sans Truesight to cover their ears and cry out in pain. In the process, the Gorilla's orb flickered out of existence, halving the amount of comforting light they had to see by. Which was probably for the best, from what little Adrien saw of the entity pulling it's way towards them from the far end of the hall. 

There was sense of dry grey tendrils gripping the walls, crushing into dust and splinters whatever they curled around. All of it propelling a hideous mass forward with a sound like stone grinding against stone. He could just almost make out yellow teeth as long as a forearm and an eye the size of a child, glinting from the light of the orb Truesight still held. Alone of all them, Truesight seemed unshaken, but when he reached at his scabbard and gripped only air, he let out a groan.

“Stay back, you understand?” It took Adrien a moment to realize that Truesight was addressing them and not the monstrosity. “This wretched creature is the source of the problem. So bloated with power that it drags the rest of reality down with it.”

Adrien felt himself being pulled back by Marinette to join the rest of the group at the very edge of the magic light. There, they watched Truesight take a defensive pose, as if preparing to withstand the winds of a tornado. Holding out his hands with his palms facing the monster, he began chanting. 

The effect wasn't immediate. Blue sparks began igniting between the two of them. More and more began appearing and swirling into a cone whose wide end encompassed the enemy and whose narrow portion ended at Truesight's palms. The sparks began lasting for more than mere moments and some started landing on the creature. While they would extinguish soon after, the sapphire glow would remain and build up and soon the creature was becoming illuminated by it. Even then, Adrien couldn't tell what it was supposed to look like as it become even more amphorous, like it was melting. The screech turned into a warbling roar where he could almost trick himself into thinking it sounded shocked. Before long, the entire creature was glowing blue and partially melted. The parts that had first started flowing were being caught into the spiral...

...Where it was then absorbed by Truesight, who grimaced as the flow of energy started to pick up. With a lurching realization, Adrien remembered him saying that the Great Enemy were mostly made of magic. He was turning it into energy and absorbing that energy. Relief gave way to fear – Truesight hadn't fully recovered from the last big fight, and there was no way that doing this wouldn't have repercussions.

But what else could Adrien do but watch?

The creature tried to vocalize its outrage at its destruction, but by that point there was nothing left of it. All of it had been rendered into raw magic and sent funneling towards Truesight. Lightning arced off of him, grounding itself against the floor, the walls, anywhere close to him. When he absorbed the last of the power, his eyes were visible even through the metal of his helmet. Slowly, he turned around to look at them.

Then he was gone. 

It was very similar to the effect that he pulled off with his sword – a rush of air, a sound like sped up thunder, and he vanished. The main difference was the strong smell of pine and a sound that was exactly like the low rumble of distant thunder. The lights flickered on, and they heard a noise behind them, back towards the foyer. Adrien rushed that way, Marinette hot on his heels and his father's disapproving voice calling after them.

He had expected to be sprinting for a while. After all, it felt like they had been walking for an hour or more in one direction. But no, after a few moments they reached the end of the hall and laid eyes on the front door. Standing – no _floating_ – near it was Truesight, a solid two or three meters above the ground and hands crackling with lightning. With a small gesture, his sword retracted from the door, freeing them to be thrown open. Creatures much more like what he remembered seeing before began flooding in, only to be incinerated by a wall of lightning bolts. In an electrified instant, all of the Great Enemies were gone and light filtered back into the mansion. Much like before, the smell of rain and pine trees filled the room.

Truesight fell to the ground with a sound of clanging metal and rattling chain. Still on his knees, he got into a coughing fit. When they approached, he waved them off and got the worst of it under control. “Damn, just when I was feeling better too. Ah well. There wasn’t much choice in the matter.”

“Are you going to be okay?” Adrien reached out to grab his shoulder.

“Aye, aye. Just so much corrupt magic all at once was more than even I can handle safely. I'll be fine." He fell into another coughing fit and reluctantly added. “...In a few days. At least this means some of the pressure on the other side has been taken care of.” He turned to look at them, adding extra emphasis to his words. “I'll have to remember to tell the kids to start up their training again. Usual times.” 

Adrien took small comfort in Truesight acting like his usual self. Other questions on his mind had to be shoved aside for the moment since everyone else began filing into the room. 

His father raised an eyebrow at the hunched over form of Truesight. “Will there be any lasting damage?”

“To me? No. To the house? Probably not. Just reality lurching back into place after being metaphorically stretched out.” Shakily, he took to his feet and began drawing his sword. “Nothing left for me to do here, so if you'll excuse me...” No one stopped him as he lifted his blade high and disappeared for the second time that day.

Father stroked his chin for a moment before turning on his heels and returning to his study. Nathalie followed behind him and the Gorilla returned to making dinner. 

“So... dudes. I think we were in the middle of Marinette giving Adrien a beatdown?”

 

\------------------------------------------

Alya watched the rain come down in sheets outside the cafe she was seated in. It was their favorite cafe that they'd been to and it had become something of a tradition to meet there when they planned to go out for the entire day. Normally, Nino would beat her here, but his parents had some last minute chores for him to do before he could leave and Alya had managed to escape without a fuss. But that just meant that she was left alone to stare out the window while she waited for her boyfriend to arrive. She mentally double checked their plans to make sure they were waterproof – the last thing she wanted to do was be outside right now. All of April so far had been wet, but at least it wasn't as cold anymore.

The door to the cafe rang and she smirked as her boyfriend walked in while closing his green umbrella. “Sorry I'm late, babe!” He leaned in to kiss her cheek and she smelled the freshness of the rain on him. “Have you ordered yet?”

“Nope! I couldn’t start without you.” She winked. “Tradition and all that.”

“I dunno if it counts as a tradition if we've only done it like what? Four, five times?”

“Has to start somewhere, you know?” Their banter was cut off by a waiter clearing his throat to get their attention. After they gave their orders (coffee and some pastries for both of them), they returned to the conversation. “So what did they have you do?”

“Just a lot of extra cleaning stuff that they threw on me when I had a foot out the door.” He sighed. “Kinda annoying, but at least they didn't pull that on me when we were doing the movie.”

As he did some venting, Alya thought back to the past few weeks – the auditions for parts, building props and sets, the frenzied filming, the editing. Despite the little time they had to work on it, Nino had been amazingly good at keeping everyone on task and getting the best performance out of everyone working on the project. Alya had known it for ages, but now he was given a chance to show everyone else his potential. His chill demeanor had turned out to be perfect for keeping calm even under the pressure of that breakneck pace. On top of that, he seemed to have learned from his mistakes in his first movie and had learned to pair the right actor with the right part. 

Although she at first had suspected favoritism when he had made Adrien his star performer, he ended up being one of the best actors they had. It had gotten to the point where they jokingly suggested paying him for his work, only for him to wince and warn them not to bring up the movie to his father.

“Hey, babe?” She asked as he paused to take a sip of coffee. “Did you remember to submit it to the summer film festival?”

“Oh, yeah! Took me forever to work up the courage, but I sent it in. All I can do now is wait and hope.” He started fidgeting with his hat, which gave Alya a clue that, despite his outward calm, he was nervous. When she reached out a hand to grab his across the table, he stopped.

“You're going to do great, babe! You put a lot of work into it and it shows. Besides, there's nothing more we do about it now, right?” He nodded. “Then let's enjoy today and get your mind off of it.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes to enjoy their breakfast, content just to be in each other's presence. When Nino got distracted with his phone, she sneaked Trixx a piece of her croissant. It was better to keep him well fed, if only to keep him out of trouble. A fat Trixx was a lazy Trixx. 

As Nino finished his pastry, he asked, “How's the research going?”

As she finished chewing, she marshaled her thoughts. There was no need to bore him on all the gritty details and dead ends, but it did feel nice to talk with someone about all this. Marinette was great and all for most things, but when it came to miraculous stuff she clammed up. Like a lot of people, her best friend was one of kinds of folks who preferred to think as little as possible about the danger looming over Paris. Which Alya could understand, even as she dove waist deep into discovering the truth behind the matter. 

“I think I hit a wall with Ladybug and Chat Noir research for now, so I've been looking at other miraculous. We know there are at least two others, so that means that might be more that we don't know about. I’ve found some promising sources that I’ll need to look into.”

“That's great, babe! Does that mean you've got a lot of info? It'd be a total bummer if it there was nothing to work with.”

She shook her head. “It isn't as easy as that. I know they've been around at least since Ancient Egypt, but it is hard to separate what’s real from myth. And a lot of the time they come up, it's bad. Like... ‘no records survive from that time’ bad. Total blackout. So all we get is word of mouth and legends.” She leaned forward on one elbow, gesturing animatedly. “Are all famous heroes and demigods miraculous users? It's possible, since we have no clue how many other miraculous there are besides the four we've seen active.” She rested her head on her arm. “For now, I just have to find people that have powers that could match the ones we've seen our heroes use.”

Nino chucked. “Sorry, babe. I guess you'll need this day out as much as I do. Then you can look at all that with fresh eyes.” His lowered his voice. “I know you've been working hard to help with the masquerade and then my film, plus all your free time working on this research. But let's take today to recharge. Your research is important, but it definitely won't help to burn yourself out.”

“Thanks.” She glanced outside, where the rain had started to let up. “Ready to start our date?”

“Always.” He grabbed his umbrella and held it above them as they exited onto the street, holding each other close for more reasons than just shelter from the rain.

 

\---------------------------------------------------

The sound of wood striking wood echoed in the open space of the underground lair. Standing in the middle of the training ring was Truesight, rotating in place to block swings coming from every direction. The defense on display was almost as impressive as the attack. Nimbly dodging the occasional counter attack, Chat Noir had thought that a rapid assault from all sides would be enough to give him an advantage against the experienced fighter. Instead, he was becoming exhausted while Truesight hardly seemed worse for wear. So much for trying to leverage his superhuman endurance and agility against him. 

The training sessions that had been on hold for one reason or another for a month had come back in full force. After the attack on the mansion, Truesight had been out of commission again, though this time it was a flu-like sickness and lasted only for a few days. It was long enough for Nino's film to take priority and what little time Adrien could spare generally meant brief lessons and occasional meditations. But now, in late April, he finally had what counted in his regimented life as lots of free time. 

Pulling back, Adrien toned down the whirlwind attacks and focused on a standard face-to-face duel. As they settled into a rhythm, he asked, “I don't know if I mentioned this, but... thanks for talking to my father.”

While blocking a half-hearted strike, Truesight replied, “Don't mention it. I'm not sure what to make of Gabriel, but he has no right to be as dismissive of you as he is. Has he improved at all?”

“We don't see each other a lot. But yeah, he's a little better, I think.”

“I was hoping for a larger improvement, but I doubt that will happen until he confronts his personal demons. A shame you're caught in the crossfire.”

“Demons? What do you mean?” Adrien rolled out of the way of a strike that bounced off the ground. 

“He carries his sorrow and pain around on his back, stubbornly refusing to let go. The wounds in his mind and spirit fester. If he wants to be whole again, he needs to move on.”

“You mean from-”

“From your mother's disappearance, yes. I don't know the details and I won't press, but he seems unable to accept what has happened.”

They sparred in silence for a few minutes as Adrien considered this. His father had never been a warm or open person, but he had definitely... changed for the worse when mom vanished. It was as if he had built a wall around himself to keep everyone out – Adrien included. While before he was content to be homeschooled, the lack of human interaction had started getting to him. Which eventually drove him to commit his first act of rebellion against his father and enter public school. The rest was history. A ghost of a smile flickered over his face as he thought of how that led to him meeting Marinette. At least something good came out of this tragedy.

Adrien missed his mom. Everyday. But he eventually accepted that she was gone, even if some days were harder than others to handle - holidays were usually where her absence was most keenly felt. His father, however... he never said it in as many words, but he hadn't moved on, hadn't let himself stop grieving. Maybe Truesight was right after all. 

“Wait, you said that you had a wife too. What happened to her?”

Truesight smiled sadly. “I seem to recall that I said that behind closed doors. Do you make a habit of eavesdropping?”

“We cats are curious.” As his mentor chuckled, Adrien continued, “But seriously, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine.”

“I can tell you that she was dead long before I came to this world but more than that... I prefer not to speak of it. I left that life behind me long ago and reminders of that time make me wistful.”

Adrien nodded in understanding and they resumed their duel in silence. Each of them became more fully invested in the conflict, intensifying the fight. There was a sense of giddiness as he recognized this portion of his story from any number of mangas or fairytales he'd read – the young hero finds an old master who teaches him long lost fighting techniques. Relishing the strange twist his life had taken, Adrien threw himself fully into the role. Thus immersed, Adrien started predicting Truesight's next moves. His blocks became quicker and his lunges were being deflected only at the last moment. Despite this, Adrien didn't feel he had any hope of actually landing a blow. In all his months of sparring with his ancient mentor, he still had never made a solid connection. 

Then it happened. Truesight was wide open and Adrien, fully expecting him to be somehow pull out a block like he always did, swung for his head. But the block didn't come. Instead, he twisted to move his head out of the way, instead putting his arm in the path of the strike. 

The wooden staff forcefully connected with Truesight's hand and he staggered back, a bruise already starting to form. His wooden sword clanged to the ground as he hissed in pain. Adrien's cat ears flattened to his head as his eyes widened, clutching his staff close. Flashbacks to his father berating him over various failures filtered through his head. _It was just an accident. Truesight wouldn't be too mad, right? It was just an accident! Maybe he'll only yell at me for being careless. Why did I swing at his head? He could've gotten really hurt! That was stupid. So stupid!_

They locked eyes and Adrien felt a surge of guilt overcome him. He nearly blurted out an apology before he was picked up off the ground in a hug. To his immense surprise, Truesight was laughing.

“You did it, son! I knew you've been improving, but I didn't expect you to disarm me so soon. Damned impressive!”

“You... aren't mad?”

Setting Adrien back down, he smiled and crouched down to eye level, hands on Adrien's shoulders. “Of course not. Accidents happen, after all, but you've been more than holding your own.” A glint of mischief crept into his eyes as he stood back up and ruffled Adrien's hair. “Of course, now that I know you can handle yourself I can step things up a notch.”

His apprehension at those ominous words was drowned out by the relief he felt at not upsetting him. It felt strange that he was taking it so well, but Adrien wasn't about to question his good fortune. As Truesight's words sunk in, he even felt a swell of pride in his abilities. 

“Go home, son. Get some rest. You've definitely earned it.”

Nodding, Adrien slipped out of the shop and made his way home.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------

“Claws in.” He landed in his room at the same time his transformation wore off, Plagg immediately complaining about food and rushing off to his personal refrigerator. Adrien shuffled to his bed and fell heavily into it. Once he had a moment to appreciate stretching out and relaxing, he listened to the still quiet of the room. Even Plagg's eating was muffled by whatever desk or drawer he was hiding in. With slight hesitation, he reached into his pocket for his phone and scrolled to Marinette's name. _Should I text her?_ He glanced at the clock. Just after midnight. Knowing her, there was a fifty fifty chance she was sleeping. Otherwise, she'd be working on designs or she’d forgotten to do her homework until the last minute. With a shrug of his shoulders, he sent a message and hoped for the best. 

**Adrien:** Just got back from training. Are you awake?

Setting the phone down, he went to get changed into his pajamas, settling for a plain t-shirt and loose black pants. Every action he took echoed across the wide empty spaces of his bathroom and bedroom. Once he got back, he checked his phone, mildly surprised to see that Marinette had responded.

 **Marinette:** Yup! Trying to find a good stopping point for this design. How was training?

A smile flickered on his face at the confirmation that his guess was correct. It took a few minutes for him to form a response – they had to be deliberately vague to make sure nobody would find anything too incriminating if they looked through their phones. After a few minutes of catching up, the conversation shifted.

 **Adrien:** So I've been having trouble sleeping lately.

 **Marinette:** U 2? Is it the dreams or smthng else?

 **Adrien:** Room's empty. Don't like being alone. Plagg snores sometimes.

From his perch on Adrien's pillow, Plagg let out an indignant, “Hey!” Which confirmed for him that Plagg was being snoopy and reading over his shoulder.

 **Marinette:** lol, he’s a tiny kitty, how loud can he snore? But yeah, ever since the masq party I haven't slept that great.

“Aww, your girlfriend misses you! Isn't that sweet?” Plagg cackled as Adrien swatted him away from his face. “Maybe you should invite her over and snuggle up together.” 

Sitting up, Adrien stroked his chin, pretending to give the idea serious consideration. “You know, that's not a bad idea.” 

“Clearly. It was _my_ idea, after all. I have only your best interests at heart.” His grin added a mischievous twist to his words.

“And this isn't about you wanting to get some quality time with your girlfriend?,” Adrien teased.

Plagg grumbled, but didn't refute the question. Adrien didn't usually get a chance to see the two interact much since they tended to find some out of the way spot to catch up in. Besides, when Adrien and Marinette were together it was usually in public or with friends and the kwami could hardly interact with each other then. In spite of all that, Adrien could tell that Plagg cared a lot for Tikki, even if it was in his own strange ways. 

The more he thought about it, the more the idea of sneaking Marinette in for cuddles appealed to him. Much like her, he hadn't been sleeping great since the masquerade party.

 **Adrien:** Plagg misses Tikki. Think you can come over for a little while?

 **Marinette:** Oh? Well, we hardly want to make Plagg sad. I'll head over in a few minutes, ok?

 **Adrien:** I eagerly await your arrival, milady~

“We are keeping this one.”

“That's the plan, Plagg.”

After some last minute tidying up – _Adrien_ may be a clean person, but _Plagg_ was not – Adrien settled back down and scrolled through social media while waiting. After half an hour, he heard a knock on his window. Looking up he saw a figure in red staring through his window, a warm, genuine smile on her lips.

As he opened the window, he asked, “Why, Ladybug! What are you doing out this late? It's really chilly this time of year.”

Giggling, she replied, “Well, I like to keep an eye on my favorite civilian to make sure he is safe and sound.” 

“Oh? A safety check? Is that the only reason you visit this mystery boy?” He held out a hand to help her into his bedroom.

She stepped off the window sill and landed in his room and winked at him.“Well, it helps that he's a cutie. Really easy on the eyes. Don't tell him that, though, it'll just go straight to his head.”

Blushing, he rubbed the back of his neck as she dropped her transformation. 

“Hello, Adrien!” Tikki chimed, waving a paw at him. “How was your time with Truesight?”

“Hi, Tikki. He was awesome as always.” Tikki smiled and was about to say something else, but caught a glance at something behind Adrien. With a mumbled apology, she chased after Plagg. Turning back to Marinette, he noticed she was in her sleepwear as well and her hair free from her usual pigtails. He took a step forward and pulled her close to him. “Thanks for coming.”

Looking over his shoulder as they hugged, she said, “I'd love to say it was purely for you, but I needed a good night's sleep too and you are just so comfy.” They pulled back and crawled into bed. 

“I'm glad to be of _purr-vice_ , milady.” 

She pulled back and put a finger over his mouth. “Shhh, less puns, more cuddles, 'kay?”

“As you wish, lovebug.” He pulled the blankets over both of them and Marinette grabbed his hand and held it with both of hers over her stomach. 

“Sleep tight, kitten.”

“Sweet dreams, Mari.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! Being the fool that I am, my spare time for writing has been split between Fictober, DJ Wifi December, True Sight, and a new fanfic or two I've been planning. Not to mention my beta being busy with finals. 
> 
> I'll probably be posting new chapters of True Sight every other week for a couple months to help me get caught up with everything. Thank you for reading! I hope it will all be worth the wait!
> 
> Edit: And I can't believe I forgot to add: I hope you all have a happy New Year's! Here's to many more stories to come! :D


	26. The Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dreams begin to pick up once again as Marinette sleeps over at Adrien's place. Alya makes a breakthrough in her research. The whole team is brought together to fight an akuma - Hawkmoth is back, and stronger than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the almost month long wait, but hopefully a 10k word chapter makes up for it. ;)

_The glowing stone gently succumbed to the pull of gravity and came to a rest atop a pedestal in the center of the auditorium. As the light faded into dormancy, the rustling of grey robes and murmured voices filled the silence. There had been no voice - the message had traveled far, much too far for anything to endure besides the emotion and feeling that had been behind the words._

_Desperation. Fear. Isolation._

_And yet… hope._

_It was all very vexing. A message batters its way into the minds of half the kingdom’s mystics, but offers no words to give context. Human in origin, but of a world previously unknown. His eyes shift to the presently inert stone. Emotions so powerful and heartfelt that only one mystic had been in the mindset to record the damned thing. Something had to be done, clearly. Even if it was only to find the mage who sent the message and bow down to their sheer audacity._

_He drummed his fingers against the oak table in front of him. Staying silent and listening was something he had been forced to accept in the years he had held this role. The golden symbols may not have distinguished his robes much from those of his brothers and sisters, but everyone in the chamber knew that when the high mystic spoke, you listened in silence. But silence does not breed deliberation, and this issue needed all of their minds working on it._

_A proposal to send an army to help their wayward human siblings was shot down almost as soon as it was spoken. The Great War had expended the kingdom’s strength - the strength of all nations, from the elves, to the dwarves, to all nations of men. No mighty force could be sent without bringing suffering upon themselves._

_Some argued to ignore the call entirely. Charity was in short supply as the world struggled to pick up the pieces, even now after a decade of recuperating. Despite the sound logic, it only filled him with anger. Leaving the innocent to suffer as they begged for relief was not something he was willing to stand for. Not now. Not ever._

_“I have made a decision,” he spoke slowly as he stood, giving time for his voice to carry through the clamor. As expected, a hushed quiet fell over those assembled. He groaned internally as he caught the look in their eyes. Many saw him as a living legend, still. One of the last great heroes of the war. One of the last because he had outlived his friends, his family, despite having only seen his forty eighth winter. “We will track the message to its source and perform divinations. Once we know more, we will send word throughout the kingdom. A hero will be chosen to answer this call.”_

_After dividing the labor of the task ahead of them, he sat back down, staring at the stone containing the ‘message’. With a gesture, he called it up to him and played it again and again and again, letting the pain of a distant people wash over him, hearing their wordless cries for help ringing in his head._

_Already he suspected that he knew who would have to make this journey._

\------------------------------------------------

Marinette woke up choking with a resigned sadness, the pain of knowing what was going to be lost. As she became more awake, the dream faded from reality to memory and the emotions that weren’t her own ebbed. Adrien’s deep sleep breathing anchored her to the waking world and brought her back into the moment. Wherever the dream had taken her, she wasn’t there any more.

She opened her eyes, which didn’t change much. It was early enough that the sun wasn’t up yet and all she could see of his room were broad shapes in the faint illumination filtering in from the street lights outside. Winter was fading fast, but the nights were still cold, far too cold for her liking. Feeling pulled towards the only other warm body in the bed, she scooted closer until she could make out the sleeping form of her boyfriend laying on his back. His hands rested on the blankets that he had pulled up to his waist. The bitter loneliness from the dream crept in again and she felt the overwhelming need to be held. She crawled onto Adrien, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and nestling her head under his chin. She wasn’t aware of her trembling until his arms enveloped her and calmed her.

“Adrien?” She whispered, raising her head hopefully. The silence stretched out, his breathing unchanged. Grunting in disappointment, the energy from the second-hand emotions dried up and her head resumed its position under his chin. After pulling the blanket up to her neck, she joined him in sleep. 

\------------------------------------------------

“Adrien, it’s time for you to-” A female voice cut off as Marinette sleepily propped herself up on her elbows. 

Below her, Adrien had seized up. He was staring wide-eyed at the door. Following his gaze, Marinette saw Nathalie reeling in surprise, seemingly as shocked as Adrien was. After a pregnant moment of awkward quiet, Nathalie straightened herself out and schooled her expression into a neutral mask. 

_Was that were he learned it from?_

“If you’ll excuse me, I’ll need to tell your father about this.”

“Wait, Nathalie, I- !” He was sluggish from just having woken up, and tangled in both his blankets and Marinette. When the door shut behind her, he wasn’t able to follow. He groaned into his hands.

“...Is everything going to be okay?” The nervousness in her voice betrayed her and he took her hands in his. 

“This isn’t your fault, Mari. She normally at least has the decency to knock. I guess I was running behind schedule?” He pulled up his phone. “Yeah, about an hour behind - practically unforgivable.” He glared off into space as he settled into silence.

“Is everything going to be okay?” She asked again, still worried. If Adrien got punished for this, she couldn’t help but feel guilty, no matter what he said. 

“I don’t know. Father has been better recently but…” He sighed. “He wasn’t thrilled about me dating at all, and he, uh,” His cheeks became tinged with pink and he rubbed the back of his neck, “... he might get the wrong idea about where our relationship is right now.”

“What do you-” And then it hit her. She was laying ontop of Adrien. In his bed. Unbeknownst to his father. And they were teenagers. She rolled off him and covered her face with her hands. “Oh _God_! He’s going to think I-I’m some kind of over excited fangirl, throwing herself at you! He-”

She was silenced by a finger placed over her mouth. “Bugaboo, it’s alright. I’m sure father doesn’t think anything like that. He’s slow to warm up to people, but you’ve really impressed him in the past. He might not show it, but I know he thinks highly of you. And I’m still his dutiful son, even if I have a weakness for raven haired badasses.” He placed a kiss on her cheek. “But the first thing we need to do is get up and get dressed. Right?”

“Right.” She nodded in determination and stepped off the bed, stretching as she did so. “So do you want to get changed first or-” She turned back around, only for Adrien to quickly look away, blushing. “Were you just staring at my butt?”

“N-no!” 

“Maybe it’s not me your father should be worried about.” As he began pouting, she added, “You don’t need to be embarrassed. It’s hardly any different than when you were ogling me as Ladybug.”

“H-hey! I am a perfect gentlemen, and perfect gentlemen do not _ogle_. And even if I did, I was discrete and there is no way you could have noticed.” 

“Mhmm, if you say so.”

He began grinning, leaving only slightly pink cheeks as a sign of his embarrassment. “I suppose you’d know a lot about gawking, wouldn’t you, Ms. Adrien-Pictures-All-Over-My-Walls?”

“Those were for _fashion_. It is hardly my fault Gabriel was an idol of mine and you are good at your job.” 

“You liiiike me~,” he sang, “you think I’m cuuuute~.”

Red in the face for more reasons than one, she stormed away from him.

“Aw, lovebug! Come back, I was only teasing.” He must have noticed where she was heading, since his tone became slightly panicked. “No, wait! You win, just don’t-”

She opened the door to his closet, causing a mountain of Ladybug merchandise to pour out. It was much smaller than it made been the last time she had seen it, consisting mostly of blankets, pillows, and a few dolls in her likeness. “Looks like someone has a celebrity crush of their own.” She gave him an exaggerated wink.

“Now I have to clean all that up again,” he whined.

“I’ll help this time, but can we admit we were both a bit much with our crushes?”

“I guess so.” He hung his legs over the side of his bed. “Do you to take the bathroom first, or should I?”

“You go ahead.” He nodded and entered the bathroom, and Marinette began cleaning up the mess she had caused. By the time he was out, most of it had been put back into the closet. Stepping over to her, she noticed he had discarded his pajamas in favor of a light sweater and jeans. 

“Oh, thanks. I can get the rest of it. Do you have anything to change into?”

With a sinking feeling, she realized she did not, in fact, bring a change of clothes. The expectation had been to sneak out as Ladybug before either of their families were any wiser. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she realized she wouldn’t be able to just sneak back into her house. _This had seemed like such a good idea last night._ While possibilities for how they would react flashed in front of her eyes, Adrien dug around in his dresser.

“Here, it might be baggy on you, but it is better than nothing, right?” He passed her an all too familiar black shirt and a pair of grey sweat pants.

Mumbling her thanks, she stepped into the bathroom and got changed into Adrien’s clothes. Lacking any hair ties to make her pigtails, she settled for a ponytail. Checking herself in the mirror, she nodded appreciatively. It would be the best she could do in the circumstances, even if going home wearing his clothes wouldn’t help with the rumors. On a whim, she pulled the collar of the shirt to her nose and inhaled deeply. Lavender, just like him. She was smiling as she exited the bathroom, just in time to see him shut the closet. There was a sharp knock at the door.

“Come in!” 

Nathalie opened the door, taking a step inside to make eye contact with them. “Please report to the dining room after you’ve seen Marinette off. That is all.” 

“Nathalie?” She looked back at Adrien. “Can we have the Gorilla drive Marinette back home?”

“...Very well. I’ll have him bring the car out front.” She closed the door behind her.

Adrien turned toward Marinette and bowed to her. “May I walk you to your ride, milady?”

Giggling, she replied, “Of course, silly kitty.”

Holding onto the arm that he held out for her, he walked her out of his room and strode confidently into the foyer as if they were both in the height of fashion. In that moment, it didn’t matter that she was wearing a too-large t-shirt and sweatpants, and whatever their parents’ reactions would be didn’t matter. It was just him being silly and her playing along. While he was doing his best to keep his eyes forward, waving at an invisible crowd, Marinette could tell he kept sneaking glances down at her, a barely suppressed smile flickering at the corners of his lips. 

They were at the giant double doors when Nathalie made a reappearance at the doors to the dining room. There was a banana and a small foil package on top of her electronic notepad. After a brief moment of confusion, Marinette’s eyes widened. She recognized the package - her parents had shown her something similar not too long ago when she had started showing an interest in boys. 

Adrien, however, seemed blissfully unaware as he tilted his head in amused confusion. _This poor, innocent child._ With a peck on his cheek, she whispered to him, “Good luck,” before slipping out the door. No doubt she’d hear about how it went soon enough. 

\------------------------------------------------

“Sweetie! I was just about to come upstairs to wake you up. Where were-” Sabine took in her daughter’s attire, eyebrows rising as she noticed the shirt she was wearing. For being the son of a fashion icon, Adrien wore the same set of clothes fairly often. “Do we need to have another talk?”

“Please no, mom.” She hugged Sabine, partially to avoid looking her in the eye as she told the lie that followed. “I’m really sorry I forgot to tell you I was going to spend the night. We had a project we needed to work on but with how weird Adrien’s schedule is…” 

“I see...” They pulled apart and Sabine shook her head. “You really need to tell us these things ahead of time.” She placed a hand on her daughter’s cheek. “I trust you and Adrien seems like such a good boy, but it would have been scary if I went upstairs and couldn’t find you.” Pushing her towards the stairs, she added, “Your father is out for the moment. Go upstairs and get changed. I don’t think he’ll be as understanding about you disappearing at night to be sleeping over at a boy’s house, young lady.”

_Well, when she put it like that…_ “Thanks, mom!”

Once upstairs, Tikki floated out from her hiding spot and spoke while Marinette undressed for the second time that day. “So now what? Seems like enough excitement to last us for the rest of the day.”

Marinette paused, holding Adrien’s shirt in her hands. Last night had done wonders for her - she hadn’t been this rested for ages, and she was practically overflowing with energy. For the first time in months she didn’t have a big project to work on, and summer break was just around the corner. There was time to do anything that she wanted to do. Do anything that she needed to get done. Staring at the shirt, she thought about him and how he had needed friends to lean on - how he still needs friends to lean on.

“Tikki? I think I’m ready to help Chloe.” She’d been doing well on her own. Not great, but there had been some progress. It was slow going, but it was real and genuine. 

“That’s great! But are you sure? I know how hard it would be for you to forgive her after all these years of bullying.” 

“It will be,” she admitted with a nod, “but doing what’s right is more than punching bad guys and chasing evil butterflies, right?”

Tikki giggled and zoomed forward her hug her cheek. “I’m so proud of you, Marinette! With your help, maybe even Chloe can be one of the good guys.” 

“Thanks for always having my back, Tikki.” She took a deep breath. “Now for the hard part,” she said, opening her phone and scrolling to the contact titled ‘Chloe.’

\------------------------------------------------

Alya was on the cusp of something big, she could just feel it. Her internet browser was a mess of tabs and her document was a jumbled mess of notes, possible leads, and names - places, people, events. Her original goal - finding out more about Truesight and the miraculous - had become… unwieldy. Most of her notes reflected this, with single lines implying long and bitter struggles that had been forgotten by the people at large. She thumbed through the notebook filled with entire pages of lines like that. All of history had become part of her investigation and at times it felt like she was drowning in information, but starved of insight. 

At the moment, she was reading about a sighting in Paris. There had been an off-handed remark in an old newspaper she’d read at the library about a pair of individuals roaming the skyline during the night about fifteen years ago. They’d become less active as the years rolled on, with the last time they _might_ have been seen was six years ago. Whoever they were, they were much better at avoiding the public eye than the present trio of superheroes - assuming these were miraculous users and not just particularly secretive parkour enthusiasts. 

“Anything juicy, kit?” Trixx poked his head out from his blanket burrow that he’d been crafting during Alya’s research. 

“Maybe,” she replied, not taking her eyes off a tab she’d opened. Her gut was telling her it was a promising lead, and she was determined to exhaust all the sources she could get her hands on. “There’s what, seven big miraculous, right?” 

“The first and the greatest, yeah. Plus all the ones that came after.”

“Are any missing?”

“I don’t know about the flawed miraculous, their presence was never as strong as ours. As for the other six, well, I haven’t seen Duusu and Nooroo around for a while.” He nibbled at his popcorn. “Plus Wayzz, I guess, but that’s just ‘cuz his miraculous is being used by Master Fu.”

She went silent for a few minutes as she found a news article written a decade ago, during the height of the sightings. The author had come to France specifically to find out more about the duo and while they usually got the better of her… sometimes they didn’t. Now Alya was scanning her archive, looking for any articles that might have included pictures.

“So what’s the story with Duusu and Nooroo? How long have they been missing?” 

“Uh… Hm.” Alya heard scratching and saw Trixx’s back paw scratching behind his ear. Absently, she took over with her fingers and he sighed in contentment. While she did so, he added, “At most, just shy of one hundred and sixty years. Some big stuff happened back then and we lost a lot. I think they got lost in the confusion.”

She made a note to look up major events from one hundred and sixty years ago. “Do all the miraculous work pretty similar? In terms of outfits and stuff?” 

“Well, the armor is what the person wants or expects, deep down, plus some of the personality of the kwami. It never looks completely normal, but it isn’t always obvious either.”

“Do you think these,” she scooped up an unresisting Trixx to show him her laptop screen, “could have been the work of… Duusu and Nooroo, right?”

Trixx blinked at the screen before his mouth widened into a toothy grin. “Looks like their handiwork alright.” 

The photo was of a man and a woman seated on a rooftop, legs hanging over the edge as they faced each other. The man’s outfit was sleek and elegant, looking more like a casual suit than armor. The cut of the coat resembled that of a leather jacket, off center silver buttons leading up to a pink gem with a double pair of silver wings pinned on his chest, below his chin. A black mask - much like any of the other miraculous heroes - matched the color of his dapper gloves and his tall boots which overlapped the ends of the suit pants. He was gesturing with a cane while his other hand ran through his pale golden hair.

The woman wore an indigo drop-waist dress that seemed to shimmer even in the stillness of the photograph. Deep purple wedged boots reached up to her knee, with the remaining skin of her leg covered by pantyhose. Long silky gloves matching the color of the boots protected her arms up to her the middle of her upper arms. A gemstone brooch of a bright teal made into the shape of a peacock’s feathers was pinned onto her overcoat. An actual peacock feather bobbed out of her blonde hair, which was braided and thrown over her shoulder. Her green eyes sparkled with mirth as they met the warm, light blue ones of her partner. The frozen moment in time captured the both of them grinning widely at each other, the man seemingly in the middle of saying something funny to the woman. 

“I didn’t know you could read Italian, kit.” He nibbled the hand that was holding him playfully. “You’ve been holding out on me!”

She looked at him in confusion as she opened her hand to let him go. “What are you talking about? I’m decent with English, but other than that and French I don’t know any other languages.”

“...Kit, the article is written in Italian. Did you not notice?”

“No… No, I didn't.” She checked the notes she had been updating. Sure enough, she found the link to the Italian articles and her copied information in French. She’d been reading Italian without even realizing it. _You don’t just suddenly pick up a language, right?_ Going back to the article, she tried to read it, but wasn’t able to make much headway - no more than she usually could, at least. “Trixx, what just happened?”

His only response was a shrug. “Maybe you can ask Truesight about it during your session today?”

“When’s that?”

“Ten minutes ago.”

After a flurry of curses that would make her more innocent friends blush, she scrambled out the window as Rena Rouge. At least the cover of night made up for her focusing on moving quickly rather than stealthily. Slipping into Master Fu’s shop, she saw the wizened old man sitting cross legged in the main room. Alya couldn’t tell if he had achieved meditative enlightenment or if he was just sleeping very peacefully. In either case, she tiptoed down the hall and into the secret passage. 

“You’re late, lass.” She jolted and turned around to see Truesight prowling around a dummy in a fighting stance. Before she could respond, he added, “Not that I mind that much. It is hard to maintain consistency when our lives constantly get in the way.”

“Sorry, Truesight. In this case, I just lost track of time.” She approached slowly as he jabbed at the straw mannequin. “I was researching, actually. Sometimes I get lost in the thrill of the chase, you know?”

He grinned. “Aye. Many a time have I become dead to the world as I delved through musty tomes and scrawled out theories and ideas.” He sheathed his sword and grabbed his tankard. “What lore were you seeking?”

“Anything about the miraculous I can find. I found a promising lead today, but…” She shuffled in place, uncertain about telling him everything. He’d certainly earned her trust at this point, due in no small part to the guilt she had felt when he had nearly died fighting alone. Still, what if this hadn’t happened before? What if she wasn’t as suited to the miraculous as he had claimed? Maybe he’d have to take Trixx and the fox miraculous back. 

“...But?” He prompted, cutting her mental rambling short. She let go of her doubts and decided to tell him.

“It was in another language. One I can’t speak.”

“Did you need help reading it?”

“That’s the thing - I understood it. Despite not being fluent, I read it as if it were my first language. I didn’t even _notice_ it wasn’t in French until Trixx pointed it out.” She took a seat and rubbed at her forehead. “What’s happening? Is it because of the miraculous?”

“Ha! It seems you are tapping into my own blessings.” 

“Blessings? You’ve mentioned them before, back when you were filling me in.” It was a day that was still etched into her memory. How could she forget? It was the day that he’d ordered that she keep the Fox miraculous for good. “Does it do something similar?”

“Well aye, French is hardly my native tongue. I’ve been around long before there was a French people to speak it, after all. You must have been using it unconsciously, since the moment you realized what was happening, you couldn’t use it anymore, right?”

“Right… What can you tell me about those blessings?”

“They were granted by the gods themselves, which means they were woven into my very soul and gain power from that eternal wellspring. Even when this world has no magic, the blessings remain true and strong.”

She frowned. “But that doesn’t explain how I can borrow them. It sounds like something that would be totally tied to you personally.”

He cleared his throat nervously. “...I know not. But that’s enough discussion for now, and we’ve already lost time in our session. Let’s begin…”

For the next couple hours, Truesight sparred with Alya. Having been a hero for much less time than either Ladybug or Chat Noir, she had a lot of catching up to do. He assured her that the gap between them was closing, but there was always room for improvement. They fought until her muscles were sore and aching and then they duelled for even longer. Eventually, he let her drink from his tankard and sent her on her way, already feeling stronger than when she had arrived. 

On her way out, she encountered Master Fu, busy making tea. “Ah, good evening, Rena Rouge. It is a pleasure to see you, as always. Is training going well?”

“I guess? It’s hard to tell if I’m making progress sometimes. It’s not like it gets any easier to beat him.” She took the cup he offered and gave a shallow bow before taking a sip. “Master Fu?” He looked up at her. “Have you ever heard of two miraculous users that were in the area like six plus years ago?”

He exchanged a meaningful look with Wayzz, who had his own tiny cup of tea. “Indeed I have. Twelve years ago, rumors of those two drew me to Paris. I had almost given up all hope of seeing the Butterfly and Peacock brought back into the fold. Sadly, I am not the spry hero I once was and my caution prevented me from calling on new heroes. They slipped through my fingers, and I knew I could not allow it to happen again. One vanished, never to return and I had thought the other did as well… or perhaps he became Hawkmoth as we know him.”

Alya covered her mouth. The thought had occurred to her, but to have it confirmed out loud was satisfying. “They looked so happy in the picture I had found. _Both_ of them. What happened?”

“Perhaps answering that question will lead us to Hawkmoth’s true identity.” He took a sip of his tea. “Or perhaps not. Perhaps Hawkmoth acted against them and stole their miraculous, just as he is trying to do with Ladybug and Chat Noir’s.”

_It looks like my research has just gone up a few notches in importance._ After finishing her tea, she returned home. Between Truesight’s odd reaction and Master Fu’s insight, she left having more questions than when she had entered, but at least she had some direction now. There was something that she couldn’t quite place. Information that was being withheld from her. But for now, she was tired and needed sleep.

\------------------------------------------------

Marinette could see her from across the cafe. It hadn’t taken long at all for Chloe to respond to her text message, and within ten minutes of her sending the first text they had arranged to meet at this cafe and talk. So far, Marinette hadn’t promised anything, but from the way Chloe had jumped on the offer, it seemed like she was certain Marinette would start helping her. Or maybe she was just willing to take the chance.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Marinette… ran into the bathroom. Once safely secured in a stall, Tikki floated out of her purse.

“Oh, Tikki! I don’t know if I can do this. It’s all so… weird! What if I can’t pull it off? What if this was all some big plot by Chloe to _really_ embarrass me? What if my friends find out and get mad at me for helping her?”

Slightly chidingly, the kwami replied, “Marinette, worrying about what might be won’t get you very far.” Her tone perked up. “Let’s go over what we know for certain, okay? Alya might not understand at first, but that’s mostly because of everything Chloe has done to you. She can hardly get upset if this was your idea. Adrien wants to see his old friend do better, I know it. And Nino just wants to see his friends be happy. None of them are going to mad at you, right?”

“I… suppose. But what if-”

“No more what ifs, Marinette. You came here because you thought you could help someone. Has that changed?”

“No…”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go, girl!” 

Smiling at the faith Tikki had in her, she nodded and left the bathroom. Chloe was staring at the window, phone held loosely in her hand, as Marinette pulled out a seat opposite her. The table was empty of drinks and snacks. A shame, really, but that could be fixed soon enough.

“So, Chloe…” The girl’s eyes widened and she turned to face Marinette. It seemed that she hadn’t noticed Marinette’s arrival. Something must have been weighing on her mind… maybe this was even more important than Marinette had thought. “What have you been up to recently? We haven’t really gotten a chance to talk… well, ever.”

“ _That’s_ your opening line? Can you _be_ any more vague? How am I supposed to respond to that?” Sighing, Marinette grabbed her purse and started to stand. Before she could, Chloe lunged across the table and caught her wrist. “Wait, please, I’m sorry! Stay?”

“...Fine, fine.” She settled back into her chair. “Let me be clearer. I’m trying to get to know you better. I know next to nothing about you. So… where do you want to start?”

“Oh. Well.” She looked away from Marinette. “I don’t know really. It hasn’t come up before.”

Marinette screwed up her face in confusion. “What do you mean? How can _you_ have not come up before?”

“No one really asks about me. Adrien has known me for most of my life so he hasn’t ever needed to ask. Sabrina hangs out with me so it’s pretty much the same thing there.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t bother me. I’ve never needed anyone before.”

Shaking her head sadly, Marinette replied, “Everyone needs someone. Even you, Chloe. What about your family? I know your dad tries to be around, despite being the mayor and everything.”

“Daddy is alright. He’s gotten me everything I’ve ever asked for. And I’ve asked for a _lot_. But… it’s hard to, like, talk with him, if that makes sense? If I asked for something, then he’d give it to me, but one of the only things he couldn’t give me was his time.”

“What about your mom? I’ve never seen her around before.” At least, she hadn’t seen her around with her family before. Being as into fashion as Marinette was, she was more than familiar with the mind behind the _Style Queen_ magazine. She hoped for Chloe’s sake that her caustic personality was just a persona that she adopted for the magazine and not her actual self.

“Oh she’s awesome! Super busy, obviously, but I try to be as much like her as I can. Well,” some of the excitement left her voice, replaced with uncertainty, “I used to. I guess I’m not as good at it as her, since I hardly got any adoring fans out of it.”

Somehow, that didn’t surprise Marinette in the slightest. It was one thing to like a critic tearing into other people. It was quite another for someone to lash out and demean everyone around them. The conversation paused as a waitress arrived to take their orders. This whole situation was giving Marinette serious deja vu, seeing as how she was dating someone who had parent issues as well. It struck a chord in her - if she gave up on Chloe, then it almost felt like she was giving up on who Adrien could have been. Maybe Chloe had the potential to be as sweet and caring as him. She at least deserved a fair chance at it. But Marinette couldn’t do this alone. All this talk about absent or apathetic parents was something that she couldn’t relate to. 

They chatted for a while longer, Marinette finding out more about her former bully in an hour than she had in the past four years. She learned about her family and the strained relationship between her mother and father. Her lack of friends growing up, with the exception of Adrien. How Emilie Agreste and her patient kindness was more a parent to her than anyone else… and how she suddenly vanished too. Marinette even managed to coax out some some info on a stuffed bear that Chloe used to have, the only reminder of one of her few good nannies in a sea of bad ones. When their time was up, they split the bill and walked out of the cafe together.

“We should hang out again some time. How’s that sound to you?”

Chloe flicked her pony tail back and tried to look unconcerned, but Marinette feel the nervous energy just below the surface. “Sure, whatever. If you want to.”

“That’s great! I’ll let you know the next time I’m free, okay?”

With that, Marinette went home smiling, proud of her actions and already plotting how she was going to help Chloe along the road of recovery. It was risky, but she might just be able to pull it off without getting anyone too mad. 

\------------------------------------------------

“It was awful!” Adrien complained. Granted, it was the first time for everyone else, but for Marinette this was her second time hearing about it. Turns out she was spot on about what Nathalie was going to show Adrien, and he had been thoroughly embarrassed for the entire time.

“At least she waited until you were alone, right? She didn’t make you sit through that with friends around.” While she wanted to come out clean with their relationship to Rena Rouge since she was such a Ladynoir shipper, Alya was very good at ferreting out the truth and connecting facts together. Who knows? If she had that loose thread to work with, she might be able to figure out their identities.

“At least there was that…” he grumbled. “Still. It was mortifying, the cold and clinical way she was explaining things. It felt like I was at one of father’s business meetings. Thankfully she didn’t have time to prepare a slide show.”

“Sorry whiskers,” Rena said, patting him on the back, “At least now it’s all over. Not like they’re going to have another The Talk with you, right?”

“I guess…”

“What strange practices your people have.” Truesight lowered his wooden sword, a signal to Marinette that their sparring match was over. 

“Do you not do something similar?” 

“My parents were frank with me about the matter once I came of age and I was always present for my children when they had questions. Not that it made much difference when I was growing up. My duties and training kept me away from matters of romance and passion. When I became an adventurer, however…” At the groaning of the everyone else, he laughed.

“Now that you mention it, you don’t talk much about your adventuring days. Why is that?” Marinette had been curious about this for a while, but hearing Truesight talk about romance reminded her that her master had lived a whole host of lives. And she knew precious little about any of it, least of all his time before coming to Earth.

He shrugged. “How would I describe them? Names would be meaningless, time would be hard to pin down, and I’d have to stop and explain things every other sentence just concerning the people and creatures I encountered.”

“Oh come on!” Rena rolled her eyes. “How different could it be? Human beings live life the same way, regardless of what weird world we’re in, right?”

“Aye, but not everyone I met on the road was human.” He began meandering around the room. “This is a world that has only ever known humanity. But where I am from? A multitude of intelligent races. Magic as an everyday occurrence. Monsters of all types - undead, dragons, fiends.”

“Sounds exciting. Is that why you left home? To see all of that?”

Surprisingly, Truesight almost looked embarrassed as he tugged at the edge of his shirt. “It… isn’t _that_ important, really…”

“Come on, Truesight! Please?” Chat looked up at him with wide eyes. 

With a rattling sigh, he relented. “To see the Great Warm Waters.”

Silence. 

“What?” Rena asked flatly.

“I had lived my entire life in a land of ice and cold. Lakes were about the biggest bodies of water near the homeland, unless you go _far_ north to the Frozen Sea. The idea of a giant shimmering body of warm water - an _ocean_ \- was fascinating. Besides,” he took a sip of his wine, “it was far to the south, giving me an excuse to travel across the length of the continent. I saw many wonders in my journey…” He trailed off, staring into space with a wistful smiling playing at his lips.

“I guess our world is boring in comparison.” Chat Noir stood up and stretched. It was about to be his turn to spar and he took to the duels with the most gusto out of any of them.

“Yes and no. I keenly feel the absence of magic, but… humanity is interesting enough on its own. The things I have seen in this world are all the more impressive for having been built by the labor of mortal man, rather than conjured by sorcery or by the will of gods.” He frowned. “Besides, I am more than glad to not have to deal with some threats again. The undead were always… disturbing. Especially the intelligent ones.”

“Oh! That reminds me,” Rena interjected, “have you heard about the lineup for the film festival in a couple days? I hear that there is a movie about vampires that has been getting a lot of attention. Maybe I’ll see you guys there?”

“Ah. So that is why the lad wanted to learn about them. Great.” Truesight let out a long suffering sigh. “Aye, you’ll probably see me there then. He seemed a good lad - I may as well see how accurately he portrayed the beasts.” Giving them a meaningful look over his cup, he added, “Probably best if we do not speak in public outside our armor, of course.”

“What about you two?” Rena turned her attention to her partners. “Should I keep an eye out for familiar faces?”

With a knowing smile, Marinette said to her, “I wouldn’t look too hard for us if I were you. We’re very good at staying low.”

\------------------------------------------------

“Hey, Alya!” Marinette shouted at her best friend from across the plaza, getting more than a few odd glances her way. Mumbling apologies to the strangers closest to her, she made her way towards Alya, Adrien following right behind her. The day of the film festival was here and while Adrien and her had only just arrived, Alya had gone in with Nino to be there as soon as it opened. Nino was understandably excited - he was finally getting the attention he deserved for all his hard work. Marinette was thrilled too; she hadn’t gotten a chance to see the full movie before and after all she’d contributed to it, she was keen to see how it all turned out. 

Running into Alya’s embrace, the two laughed and greeted each other. “It’s great to see you, girl! I’ve been by myself for a while now since Nino had to do something with the festival authorities or something like that. And you!” Alya walked straight past Adrien’s offered hand to give the blonde a hug. “It’s been a few weeks since I’ve gotten to talk with you, centerfold. Been treating my bestie right, I hope?” 

Smiling nervously back at her intensity, he said, “Yeah! We’re doing great. How about you and my main man Nino?”

After filling each other in on the admittedly few things they missed in each other’s lives, the aspiring director himself showed up. It was clear that he had at least attempted to clean up a little, but formal attire was still foreign to him. Adrien sighed to himself. If Nino had asked him for help, he would have given it without question. _Was he embarrassed? Did he want to prove that he could do it himself? Maybe he was just so nervous that he completely forgot he **could** ask for help._

“Dude, you made it! You about ready to get swamped with fans wanting your signature?” Nino threw an arm around his neck as he leaned in, grinning. 

“Been there already, bro.” He saw Nino’s enthusiasm dampen and rushed to add, “But it’ll be way cool for people to like me for more than my good looks.” He straightened out his jacket and adopted what he hoped was a cool smirk. “At least now they’ll realize I’m the full package.”

Snorting, Nino turned to Marinette and said, “Better keep an eye on this one or he’ll pop from an over inflated ego.” They laughed at Adrien’s expense, but he couldn’t help but join in. “Now c’mon, dudes, I got us the best seats for the noon viewing.”

As they got settled into their seats, Adrien looked around the packed room to get a sense of who was coming in to see his best bud’s film. He caught sight of a redheaded man in the corner, keeping to himself but standing out from the crowd. Pale blue eyes met his green and Truesight winked at him just before the lights went out and the movie started. 

\------------------------------------------------

Adrien tried to find his mentor after the viewing was over, at least partially because he was curious about how accurate he found the portrayal of vampires. The entire experience was certainly… disturbing. There was none of the usual vampiric seduction or charm. Instead it was feral murderers with prodigious strength and unholy speed, lurking in shadow. Not to mention the mysterious powers of the head vampires. It certainly seemed to have an unsettling effect on the people emerging from the viewing. Most looked like they were talking animatedly about the unique portrayal of the classic monsters, which was keeping a wide grin on Nino’s face.

A flash of crimson caught Adrien’s eye and he watched Truesight disappear into the crowd. No doubt he was returning to Master Fu’s, or whatever else he did during the day. 

“Hey sunshine, you still with us? Or are we being ignored?” Alya ruffled his hair.

“Sorry, guys.” He slipped an arm around Marinette. “I just thought I saw someone I recognized from work. What were we talking about?”

“Only the most important thing, dude - lunch! They’ve got a pretty awesome step up over this way. Follow me!” Nino lead them to a picnic area where a small crowd of people were gathered around a few carts, each selling a different kind of food. They split up to get lunch before meeting up at one of the tables.

Adrien was last to arrive, possibly because his line was the longest. Who knew that a salad and a croissant would be so popular? Marinette seemed to have snagged their seats for them, since she was already half finished with her Szechuan chicken and vegetables. While spicy food was hardly his forte, the scent of it was much more appetizing than his own food. Nino and Alya had settled for sandwiches.

“Seriously, dude? Just a salad?”

“And a chocolate croissant...!” At their continued stares, he sighed in defeat. “The summer lines are coming up soon, which means I need to be as fit as possible. There won’t be a lot of fabric to hide behind, you know?”

“Your father is cray cray if he thinks _you_ of all people need to be getting any thinner.” Nino pinched the bridge of nose before regaining some of his previous excitement. “So, dudes - how’d you like the movie? It’s as much your movie as mine, so I’d love to hear what you think about the end result.”

“I’ll give you props - It really is a good horror movie.” Marinette shivered and added, “Why did we have to make a scary movie?”

“Because horror is right behind rom-coms as the best genre of movie, obviously.” Alya grinned at Marinette’s eye roll. “But yeah, I liked how you went with the type of mind control Truesight was telling you about.” 

“Talking with him turned out to be a huge help for getting a sense of what actually fighting vampires is like. I’m just glad-”

A scream, sadly a pretty common sound in Paris, cut Nino off and had everyone around them panickedly looking for the source. Others began joining in the yelling and chaos erupted as the festival goers began running in all different directions. With all the commotion, Adrien couldn’t see what had gotten everyone riled up in the first place, but his gawking was interrupted by someone dragging him away by his arm. As he protested weakly, he saw his captor had pigtails and was marching him off to a secluded area in the hedges. He smiled - his lady always was a quicker thinker than him. It was only once they had slipped into the hedge that he realized that still left their friends alone in what was probably an akuma attack.

He opened his mouth, but she shook her head. “I saw Alya drag Nino off somewhere else. I’m betting once she has gotten him to safety she’ll be coming back to join us. Did you see what we’re up against?”

It was his turn to shake his head. “Sorry, m’lady. I was _catnapped_ before I could get a look at whatever the akuma of the day was.”

“Then we better get out there and find out fast. Tikki, spots- Wait, are you okay?” 

The kwami in question had floated out of her purse clutching her large head. “I’m fine, Marinette, but you need to be extra careful! I sense that Hawkmoth is using a lot of Great Enemy energy. I think this akuma will be more dangerous than usual.”

“Sugarcube’s onto something there, kid.” Plagg emerged from Marinette’s purse as well, clutching his stomach. Adrien hadn’t even noticed that he had left his jacket. Then again, not having tiny fangs nipping at him and a faint voice demanding cheese should’ve been his first hint. “Whatever is out there is bad news, but we should be able to handle it.”

Adrien shifted his stare from the kwamis to Marinette, who had cupped her chin and narrowed her eyes in thought. “Okay. We’ll focus on getting a sense of the akuma victim first and slowing them down until the rest of the team can arrive. Are you two going to be okay?”

“Don’t worry about us, pigtails. This is an old song and dance for us. Now hurry up and transform already.” 

She nodded once. “Tikki, spots on!” 

“Plagg, claws out!” A wave of nausea hit just after his transformation ended, but it only took him a moment before recovering. Likewise, his Ladybug winced from a headache before it too passed.

As Ladybug stood up to leave, Adrien caught her wrist. “Wait, before we head out there.” She flashed him a confused look before he pulled her toward him and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. Even with the mask in the way, he could see her blush as he pulled away. “I wanted to borrow some of that Ladybug luck.” He winked and propelled himself out of the hedge with his baton.

He could just barely hear her grumble as she followed him. “Sly alley cat…”

With his new, higher vantage point, Adrien looked around the deserted park, frowning at the absolute mess that had been left behind in the panic. Overturned carts, collapsed tents, debris everywhere… but no people. A sense of dread began to build up in his gut as the sky became overcast with dark clouds. They weren’t talking in their hiding spot for that long, maybe a few minutes at most. There should be _some_ people still around. Even with his superior eyesight he couldn’t- wait. There was a flash of red eyes peering out from shadow but the moment he noticed them they vanished. 

“What did you see?” Ladybug whispered to him, despite them being alone. For reasons unknown to him, it felt right to be whispering, even if they had no idea what they were trying not to be heard by.

“A pair of eyes, I guess? I didn’t get a good look. It looked weirdly familiar, though.”

“Familiar? How?”

“Like I’d just- Oh no.” Adrien’s eyes widened as he remembered where he had seen red, hungry eyes. It hadn’t been that long ago, after all. They’d been watching Nino’s movie only an hour or two ago. Which meant that these were… “Vampires,” he whispered.

As if they had been waiting for that cue, pallid human-shaped monsters lurched out of hiding to throw themselves at the heroes. Staff raised in defense, Adrien glanced over the creatures, trying to find details that could help him figure out what had happened. The thirty or so monsters in front of him seemed to have been culled from the crowd - they wore everyday clothes, albeit muddy and bearing many small rips. Their skin was pallid, eyes black and lifeless. They lurched toward them with impressive speed, nails like claws and teeth like fangs. Their speed and strength was impressive, but not superhuman like his. A name for them clicked into place and he said it aloud.

“Spawn.”

“What?” Ladybug leapt aside as four tried to surround her, tripping them up in the process. Her eyes were scanning the crowd, looking for an object that could be where the akuma was hiding.

“Remember Nino’s movie? These are just spawn - not full vampires, so they can go out in the sun, but they aren’t that strong. They aren’t that menacing… but it’s never just them.”

She sharply inhaled with realization. “So we’re looking for the head vampire.” She wrapped up one of her attackers and threw him at two that were chasing after her, only to abruptly change direction when four others appeared in her path.

“Nosferatu. Nino was very insistent on calling them that.” Adrien beat aside a few of the spawn, but most kept climbing back onto their feet and charging into the fight. If the nosferatu could make minions that were this stubborn so quickly, how would they be able to get enough time to find the akuma, let alone reach it?

“Right, right. Can you distract them for a minute?” After he nodded, she rushed off to the fallen tents, several of them hot on her heels. He leaped after them, darting around them and lightly smacking them around - enough to get their attention, but not so much force to tire himself out. Soon enough, he had most of the horde on him. The sight of so many gleaming teeth and claws pointed in his direction sent a shiver down his spine, but he did his best to shake it off.

“They’re right on my tail, LB. You almost ready?”

Instead of responding, Ladybug’s yoyo flew out and began rounding them up into one bunch. When they were tightly packed, she jumped over them, dropping a large tent on them as she passed over. She handed one end of a rope to him and they ran circles around the spawn, pinning them in place under the canvas. 

“That’s not going to hold them forever, but hopefully it’ll last long enough to catch the baddie. Any clue where to go, Chat?”

A sound like sped up thunder heralded Truesight’s arrival. His helmet swiveled around as he took in the scene and he held onto his sword tightly as he prowled over to his students.

“By all the gods, why did it have to be damned vampires?”

“We’ve already stopped a horde of them. Do they normally spread this fast?”

“No. The power of the Great Enemy has made the beast… virulent.” He moved up a corner of the tent, unmoved by the gnashing teeth and blood-curdling shrieks that they unleashed against him. “They aren’t even afflicted with the blood curse. Just mind controlled.”

“Wait, so these aren’t even spawn?” Adrien deflated a little. He had been proud of his deduction. 

“They are in a sense. This breed of vampire cannot create more of itself - but their powers are great and terrible to behold.” Truesight sighed. “I suppose this will serve as a good first lesson in facing the Great Enemy.” He started walking out of the park.

“Where are we going? Have you seen the head vampire?”

“Yes and no. Bloated with dark magic as it is, I can sense the direction it’s in, but I have yet to lay eyes upon it.” He glanced at them. “You ought to be able to as well. Remember what I’ve taught you. Reach out to the magic of the miraculous, and let it envelop your senses.”

Using the meditations that he had been practicing for months, Adrien tried to do what Truesight said and closed his eyes, reaching out to Plagg’s power. When he opened his eyes, the world was… different. There was not a world shattering change, but rather a shift in colors. Those colors refused to stay to the objects they were associated with, creating a hazy aura. He looked to Ladybug first, seeing a shimmering pink field arise a few centimeters off of her. Glancing down at himself, the black of his suit seemed to flow about as far off him as Ladybug’s was. 

“You’ve got the hang of it, at least well enough to assist you. Another tool in your arsenal, ready to be wielded in this war of mine.” 

Adrien looked up at Truesight and the swirling maelstrom of oranges, blues, and greens that rolled off him like storm clouds, breaking against the golden yellow sheathing his sword. His mouth fell open as he watched the motion of the aura emanate off of him and dissipate after getting one or two meters away from him. 

“Focus, kids! There is danger all around, and no time for gawking. Follow me.” He ran off, sword clutched tightly in his fists and held in a ready position. Sharing a glance with Ladybug, Adrien followed close behind. Once his attention was diverted, the auras faded and his normal vision returned.

It didn’t take long to catch up with the monster, despite being more difficult to track down than usual. Normally, an akuma was fairly easy to find - they didn’t care much for sneaking around, and wanted to get their revenge on whoever or whatever has wronged them enough to become vulnerable to Hawkmoth’s powers. There was a surprising lack of screaming, but not a lack of people. Plenty were roving through the streets in a similar condition to those they had fought earlier. Floating above them all was a tall, gangy person in black robes. Its ears were long and ended in points almost as sharp as the fingernails that were as long as the hands they were on. Very little of the creature’s flesh was revealed, mostly just of the hands and face, but what little they could see was maggot-pale and lifeless. As they stepped into the streets, it whipped it’s head towards them, giving them a good look at it’s face - a mouth full of jagged, misshapen teeth and eyes that glowed crimson. Just briefly, Adrien caught a glint of blue at its chest.

With a flick of its wrist two cars were lifted up and thrown at the heroes, all three of whom easily dodged. But now they were on the back foot as a throng of spawn descended on them. Soon enough, Adrien didn’t have the time to spare to keep track of his allies, fully focused on incapacitating as many of the minions and dodging telekinetically thrown objects from the nosferatu. There was a seed of worry in the back of his mind. It had been awhile since it had happened, but then again it had been a while since an akuma with the power to mind control people had shown its face. Would he become a servant to the nosferatu? He tensed his muscles, lips pressed together tightly as he redoubled his efforts. In case that happened, he needed to make sure as many of the spawn were beaten as possible, to make it easier on his friends if he was turned against them. Again. 

He heard a thud behind him and whirled around to find Rena Rouge standing amid five spawn, knocked out on the ground. She flashed a winning grin at him. “Hey cat man. How’re we holding up? We got a plan of attack yet?”

“I’m feline pretty good about our odds. We’re a pretty tough crew now, even the guy that looks like he walked off a horror movie isn’t going to be able to keep us down for too long.” They evaded a couple street lights that were thrown their way. “I’m more of a quick action kinda guy. You should ask milady bug if you want strategy.”

“Oh? Trying to pawn me off onto someone else already? I’m sure she’ll ask for us when she has a plan. Maybe we should get her some space?” She picked up and spun a minion running towards them around and threw him into a bunch of his buddies. 

“ _Paw-lease_. I’m not about to decline some company. Although I think your plan is _purr-fect_. Shall we?”

“We shall.”

Moving as one, they fell back towards Ladybug to back her up. Figuring out what they were doing, Truesight fought their way to them as well, beating back the spawn with the flat of his blade and a wildly swinging, armored fist. 

“Got a plan, bugaboo?”

Ladybug glanced around her at the rapidly thinning horde and the shield of heroes around her. “Nothing is coming to mind. Maybe a lucky charm will help.” After holding out her hand and summoning the power of her miraculous, a polka-dotted red blindfold appeared in her hands. Glancing between the blindfold and the nosferatu, she began to smile. “Truesight, I notice that the vampire’s eyes glow when it uses its powers. Is that right?”

“Aye. Without sight, it can’t create more spawn nor can it aim it’s attacks. Since the blindfold is created by your miraculous, it is immune to the beast’s powers.”

“In other words, once I put this on it, we’ve won.” Turning to her miraculous partners, she added, “Chat, Rena - I need you to cover me while I face the akuma.” 

“Are you sure, LB? It’s really dangerous - maybe you should let me do it.”

“Why would sending you be less dangerous?”

“It wouldn’t, but we can afford to lose me. I don’t know what we’d do if you were taken out of the fight.”

Rolling her eyes, she grabbed the back of his head and pulled his face down to hers for a kiss. After she let go, she whispered against him, “You are important, Chat. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” As Rena was silently screaming, battle forgotten for the moment, Ladybug began running towards the akuma victim, arm reeling back to throw her yo-yo.

It only lasted a few moments. With the swarm under control, Rena and Adrien leaped after their leader, intent on distracting the akumatized villain, but Ladybug had gotten a headstart on them. Adrien had the clearest line of sight to Ladybug sailing through the air like her namesake. Time slowed down, giving him ample opportunity to watch events unfold before him.

An invisible force pushed down on him and he went tumbling out of the air, catching a brief glance as Rena suffered a similar fate. Ladybug herself froze in place, surrounded with a red-tinged aura as the nosferatu closed the distance between them. Its eyes glowed so brightly red, he could see her face become bathed in crimson. He crashed into the ground and found his legs so weak that he couldn’t stand. Ladybug landed on the ground and turned to them.

Her bluebell eyes had turned black and she hissed at them, revealing sharp fangs. Rena Rouge was screaming - whether it was denial, panic, or fear, Adrien couldn’t tell. Despair began to sink in before Truesight pulled him to his feet and put his hands heavily on his shoulders.

His voice was stern and calm as he spoke. “Listen to me, son. We’re going to need help. Find Master Fu and get the turtle miraculous. Choose a new bearer and bring them here. With their power, we can turn the tide.”

He shook his head and tried to shrug off Truesight’s hands. “No! I need to save her! Send Rena - I need to be here for her!”

“Damn it, listen to me! _You_ need to do this.” He pulled Adrien’s face back to look at him. “Unfailing loyalty and sturdy patience defines the turtle. That bring anyone to mind?”

Numbly, Adrien nodded. “I… yeah, I think I know someone.”

Truesight slapped him on the back and drew his sword. “Then go. I will do my best to keep things from deteriorating here.” 

Without another word, Adrien started to leave, sparing one last glance back at Ladybug. _I will make this right, my lady._

\------------------------------------------------

Adrien stumbled into Master Fu’s parlor, where the old man was calmly sipping tea. 

“Ah, Chat Noir, how have you-” He was cut off by Adrien falling to his knees. With the adrenaline from the battle wearing off, he was no longer able to hold back and began sobbing. Master Fu was by his side in a moment, aura of mystique abandoned to become all business. “What happened? Where are the others? What brings you here?”

His explanations were stuttered and halting from sniffling and tears. “Luh-ladybug, s-she… akuma got h-her… T-t-truesight s-sent me to... get the tur-turtle. Please, help!”

Stroking his beard, he nodded. “Yes, this is most serious. I can see why Truesight wanted aid. But you say he specifically asked for the turtle?” Adrien nodded furiously, disbelieving despair starting to give way to anger. He _needed_ to finish this mission and get back to his lady. “...Very well. You may take my miraculous.” Master Fu nodded to Wayzz, who vanished into the bracelet. Sliding off the green bracelet, he procured a box from nowhere and handed it to Adrien. “Now go! Time is of the essence!”

With a familiar black box in hand, Adrien fled the shop. His head was beginning to clear, his attention hyper fixated on getting the help that he needed. He hadn’t seen where his quarry had fled in the panic surrounding the attack, but he knew him very well. If he had to choose a place to hide while waiting for his friends, where would he go? A few minutes later and he was stepping into the school building - it wasn’t far from the fight, and it had a great vantage point if you wanted to record the battle. 

Sure enough, he found Nino looking out a window, phone trained on Rena Rouge and Truesight fighting against the nosferatu and Ladybug. The phone was shaking ever so slightly. Alya would be proud - he was getting the footage she’d be trying to get if she weren’t a miraculous bearer, and doing it despite his fear. Or maybe she would be pissed at him for putting himself at risk. He put a hand on his shoulder and Nino twisted around, eyes wide.

“Chat Noir? Shouldn’t you be helping the others?”

“I will be.” He held out the black box. “And so will you.”


	27. Turning Tides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The thrilling conclusion to the akuma fight, with a new face joining the battle. Later on, our heroes have a chance to relax and be told stories from the dawn of the miraculous.

“No way, dude!” Nino recoiled from the presented box. “I’m not hero material. I’m just a guy doing what I can.”

“That’s what all heroes are.” Chat Noir smiled, though there was still worry in his eyes. “And besides, you aren’t just any guy, you’re the only one brave enough to stick around this close to the action - and that was before you got super powers.” He began shifting between his feet as he watched the battle outside. “What do you say?”

“I…” He closed his eyes and turned away. None of this felt right - he was just a normal guy. What business did he have becoming a superhero? Was he just being chosen because he was close by? He could name three people off the top of his head who would make better heroes. _But… none of them were here, were they? Wait, where **were** they? He’d lost Marinette and Adrien in the crowd, and Alya had run off somewhere, claiming she was looking for the other two._ Filled with worry for his friends, he opened his eyes and looked up at Chat Noir. Standing tall, he nodded and the container was held out to him once again.

Nino tentatively took the black box with strange red markings and opened it. Inside, a fancy green bracelet sat in a red velvet cushion. As he watched, the bracelet erupted with light and made a high pitched _ting_ sound. The light left the box and took on a green hue, but got so bright that Nino had to look away momentarily. Once he looked back, the light had been replaced with a small floating turtle that was looking up at him expectantly.

“Greetings! It has been such a long time since I have had a new master.”

“Woah… Do you grant wishes little dude?” He reached out a finger slowly to poke the turtle. Out of the corner of his eye, Nino noticed that the feline hero was smirking. 

Deftly dodging out of the way of the probing digit, it zoomed in closer to his face. “I grant no wishes, but I _can_ grant you the power of protection.” He made a slight bow, crossing his arms in front of him. “I am Wayzz, the kwami of the turtle miraculous.”

“Kwami? Power of protection? What does-”

The turtle - Wayzz, Nino corrected himself - shook his head. “There is no time for discussion - at least for now. All you need to know at the moment is you transform with the phrase, ‘Shell on’, and your special power is called ‘Shellter.’ Do you understand?”

His thoughts were swirling around in a blur, but he nodded. It all _seemed_ so simple, but… “Do you really think I cut out for this?”

Without faltering in his smile, Wayzz said, “Of course I do, master. You are my chosen one, after all! I have full faith in your abilities.”

“Then I won’t let you down, little dude. Wayzz, shell on!” 

By the end of his transformation, Nino was wearing a green suit of armor not unlike the ones worn by the other three miraculous heroes. He hefted the shield he’d been given, marveling at how light it was. 

“Come on! We need to get into the fight!” Chat Noir leapt out the window and ran towards the fight raging nearby.

Much more cautiously, Nino followed behind stumbling out of the window and falling outside. He hit the ground hard, but barely felt it, even managing to turn it into a roll that saw him back on his feet. Taking a deep breath, he felt power in his muscles that wasn’t there a few moments ago. An energy that surged out from deep inside him, made him strong in ways that went beyond the merely physical. His lingering hesitation was being swept away by a confidence born from this new strength. Soon he was sprinting across the empty streets and took stock of the situation up close. Which is when he heard the singing, echoing strangely between the buildings like a mournful dirge. 

He followed the song to the duel between Truesight and a feral-looking Ladybug. The mind controlled Ladybug was launching a ferocious assault on Truesight, both with her yoyo and with thrown punches. Her yoyo was sailing around him at all angles, only to be repeatedly knocked out of the air. Those times he failed to dodge her swings, he’d angle himself so that her fist struck the solid metal of his breastplate. Although he was holding his own against Ladybug, he was entirely consumed with his defense in the duel and reciting whatever story was giving him strength, letting the rest of the battle deteriorate around them. 

Rena Rouge was fighting a losing battle. Many of the spawn that they’d knocked out earlier had gotten back on their feet and she was getting swarmed - a situation only barely being fixed by Chat’s return. Between the blood on her face from a number of scratches and her teeth-baring scowl, she made for a sight almost as terrifying as the akuma’s victims. Her sheer dogged determination reminded him of someone, but just who stayed stubbornly out of reach, like he was grasping at fog. 

A part of him was totally psyched to see the creatures he had portrayed on the screen brought to life - literally. The excitement was dampened by guilt - if he hadn’t made the movie, would the akuma have been something more manageable? Was he partly to blame for Chat Noir’s fear, Rena’s wounds, and Ladybug’s possession? The thought caused him to freeze up as he glanced between the combatants. 

Rena Rouge spared a glance his way. “Hey you! Shelly! You gonna fight or just stand there and stare?!”

_Well, I brought them into this world. Sounds right that I take them out of it too._

He rushed forward, pulling back his arm with the shield to throw it into the horde with one fluid motion. There was a brief moment of panic - _Why the hell did I just do that?!_ \- before the shield bounced between several of the spawn, knocking them away from Chat and Rena, before flying back at him. Despite another flash of panic, he caught it effortlessly. The entire technique had just come… naturally, as if it were muscle memory rather than a spur of the moment attack. Then the spawn were closing in again and he didn’t have time to dwell on the weirdness of it all. He figured that since he was given a shield, he would help out best by watching out for his teammates - with their backs secure, they were even able to start making headway again against the enemy. Things were going pretty well.

At least they were until Nino noticed the area around him become bathed in red light. Curious, he looked around, only to come face to face with the nosferatu itself glaring down at him. From this close, he could feel the crackling energy pulsing off it as it held itself aloft and he feared the worst when it raised an arm to gesture at him. Nino felt the very air begin to constrict him as power rushed over the surface of his suit and a voice echoed in his mind…

...Only for the bubble to pop and leave him none the worse for wear. No one seemed more confused than the nosferatu - especially when Nino took the opportunity it’s closeness provided to bash it with his shield. Reeling, the nosferatu floated up and out of reach. As it did so, he noticed a familiar blue amulet emerge from beneath its robes before being quickly tucked away again. 

He heard Truesight laugh, only noticing now that his song had ended. “Good… Very good! The turtle’s powers have not waned in the centuries since I saw it used last.” Nino turned to look at him, only to find the swordsman rushing at him, barking a command. “Call on it’s power. Now, lad!” 

“R-right!” He held his shield above his head and called out, “Shellter!”

A half sphere of energy formed around him, shielding Truesight and all the miraculous heroes - Ladybug included. Just as he was afraid she would continue to lash out at them, she fell to her knees, clutching at her head. She blinked rapidly and her eyes returned to their normal vibrant blues. 

“I… ugh, my head. What happened?” Just as she stood on shaky legs, Chat Noir wrapped her in a hug, joined by Rena Rouge. 

“You’re back with us and that’s all that matters.” Ladybug seemed skeptical of Chat Noir’s response, but chose to let it go.

Feeling very much like a third wheel, Nino cleared his throat to get their attention. “Uh, dudes? I’m pumped Ladybug is back with us too, but what do we do now? The shield won’t last forever, right?”

“With me here it will. But you’re right, the longer we stand around the worse for it will get for us.” Truesight gestured to the reforming (and to Nino’s horror, _growing_ ) horde of spawn to underline his point. Some of them were already clawing at the shields borders. “Are you up to lead the group, Ladybug, or would you prefer someone else take over?”

She shook her head. “No, I feel nauseous, but I’ve dealt with worse. Maybe the plan from before will work? I’m not sure, now that we have a better grasp of its tricks. What we _really_ need to figure out where the akuma is…”

“Oh, it’s probably in the nightshade amulet.” The other four looked up at him. “...Did I say something wrong?”

Truesight cupped his chin in thought and murmured, “So _that’s_ how the beast was able to stay out in the sun. I just thought the akuma was bending the rules for their kind.”

“A necklace that gives it power?” Ladybug squirmed free of her teammates and nodded. “That sounds right. And it’s the only thing that stands out from the rest of the outfit.” She glanced outside the protective barrier. The nosferatu had fled the scene, leaving them with just the spawn around them. “Okay everybody, here’s the plan…”

\-----------------------------

Marinette ran across the rooftops, keeping an eye out in case the akuma victim tried to ambush them while they chased after it. Noticing that she was getting ahead of her teammates, she stopped to let them catch up. Between Truesight needing to be carried by Chat Noir and Nino slowed down by having to maintain his miraculous power, their pace was less breakneck and more leisurely. While she would have liked to pretend it was difficult to figure out who the new guy was, the sad truth of the matter is that Adrien didn’t have that many friends he could trust. Not even the miraculous magic could get around that fact. When it came out in planning that he’d been the one to choose the turtle bearer, everything clicked. 

The nausea came back and she took a deep breath, trying to focus the aura reading ability Truesight had walked them through. Sure, he’d just point them in the right direction, but honing the ability could only help her and she desperately needed to get her mind off of what had happened. She felt… invaded and gross in all the worst ways. _Was this how Adrien felt each time he got mind controlled?_ She made a mental note to give him extra kisses - no doubt he’d need them as much as she did. 

Speaking of, Chat Noir landed on the rooftop and Truesight let go of him. He rubbed his shoulder as he rolled it, wincing. “No offense, Truesight, but I hope we find the vampire soon.”

“None taken, lad. And your wish is about to be granted. We are close… very close.” 

Rena Rouge landed nearby, closely followed by Nino. _Seems like she was hanging back with him… did she suspect anything? Were they drawn together even not knowing their identities?_ Given Marinette and Adrien’s… complicated… relationship pre-reveal, she wouldn’t doubt it. 

“That’s great!” Rena crossed her arms and grinned. “Not great enough to salvage my date, of course, but I’m sure I’ll be able to fill my afternoon _somehow_.” 

Nino grinned. “Same! The sooner we finish up here, the sooner I can make sure my babe is alright.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about her, newbie,” Chat Noir replied, “I’m sure she’s doing just fine.”

“Focus, everyone. We need to beat the akuma first before we can start thinking about what we’re doing afterwards. Everyone remember their roles?” Seeing her friends bobbing their heads, she gave a quick nod and began twirling her yoyo. “Then let’s get to it. Places, everyone!”

\------------------------------------------------

Alya was hidden in an alleyway, watching as her illusion of Ladybug walked cautiously down the street, twirling her yo-yo into a shield that she held protectively over her head. This wasn’t something that Alya had done before, but the finer points of her training with the man beside her had prepared her well for this moment. The precise control of the two illusions was key to ensuring that everything went according to plan. 

Precise control which required focus, practically blinding her to her surroundings - to any danger approaching. Yet another reason why she was paranoid about being so close to the bait. Normally she was too excited in a fight to get nervous but seeing what happened to the real Ladybug had shaken her more than she’d like to admit. Pretending mind control was only a thing that Chat Noir needed to worry about had been a huge weight off her. With that illusion shattered… She shuddered, concentration ebbing for a brief moment. 

An armored hand settled on her shoulder, grounding her as he whispered encouragement. “Keep your mind clear. You’re doing great, lass.” 

Maybe Ladybug paired her with Truesight for more than just a sentry and a battery. Having the veteran hero and his unshakable calm did wonders for pulling herself together. As for Chat Noir… probably no wonder Ladybug took her traditional partner as her teammate in this plan. It was pretty obvious to anyone that bothered to look at the usually cocky and energetic hero that he was worse for wear. 

She narrowed her eyes in thought. Ladybug had used her lucky charm earlier in the battle already and she was too far away from Truesight to be recharged by him. _Had she sneaked off with Chat Noir to recharge the old fashioned way? What did **her** kwami eat, or did they all eat the same?_ Her eyes widened as she considered another possibility. _Does that mean that Chat Noir knew her identity? Come to think of it, the two of them **did** seem to be treating each other much more… tenderly. Like they were more fragile. They were treating each other as if they were civilians and not superheroes in some of their more recent battles._

A brief flash of red drew her eyes back to Truesight, whose crystal necklace was already fading back to its neutral tone. Ladybug was in position then, presumably with Chat Noir. Now they just needed the akumatized victim to show up and spring the trap. It sounded easy, but Alya had never had to hold Mirage for this long before and each passing minute became an ever increasing weight on her shoulders and mind. Her thoughts began to move more sluggishly after a few minutes and sweat began to bead down her forehead not long after. It became just her and the energy flowing through her. Taking things moment by moment was the only way she was able to persist.

Her concentration was so deep that she didn’t catch the vampire’s arrival. It took Truesight shaking her by the shoulder to draw her back to the present - the villain staring down Ladybug in the middle of the street, a purple stylized butterfly mask outlining its dead, black eyes. Once the mask disappeared, it opened its maw of misshapen teeth and howled. Answering howls from blocks away all around sounded, and the floating villain descended on Ladybug…

...Only to collide bodily with a previously hidden force field. While it was dazed, there was a clear shout from above.

“Now, while it’s stunned! It won’t get away this time!” 

Ladybug - the _real_ Ladybug - went into a flurry of activity, her yo-yo forming a web of unbreakable thread over the street. At the same time, Chat Noir jumped down at the other end of the street and Alya dropped the illusion, clutching at her forehead and closing her eyes to the light that was abruptly shining in her eyes now that her cover was gone. Standing in Ladybug’s place in the middle of the street was the new guy, still holding his shield up. While Truesight rushed past her, she felt something get pressed into her hand. Upon opening her eyes, she saw it was Truesight’s tankard, filled with the revitalizing drink. She chugged the liquid and rushed out.

By the time the vampire had recovered, it was being attacked by two sides - from the north came Chat Noir and an unarmed Ladybug while from the south came the new guy, Truesight, and herself. Its eyes widened in panic and it tried to get altitude only to get collide with the web and bounce back to the ground. By the time it realized what was happening, all five of them were surrounding it.

It gestured to Ladybug and Alya. Ladybug was pushed back, but shield dude got in front of Alya and blocked the ripple of energy. Before it could try again, Chat got its attention by solidly connecting with his staff into its side, smashing it to the ground. Whirling around to hiss at his assailant, it opened itself up to Alya rushing forward, jumping on it and pinning its arms to its sides. As it struggled against her, the blue necklace slipped out of its hiding within the vampire’s robes. Back in the fight, Ladybug tore off the amulet and threw it to the ground, stomping on it with her heel for good measure.

Standard procedure after that - bye bye butterfly, miraculous ladybug, pound it. Only this time, there was a new face to bask in the victory.

“Nice work, Shelly.” She smacked the green hero on his shoulder. “Welcome to the team.” 

Now that there wasn’t mind controlled friends, illusions, or vampires getting in the way, she could get a good look at him and boy was she glad she did. He was a handsome one to be sure and definitely more to her liking than the other boy of her age on the team. Sure, he didn’t quite compare to Nino, but… The thought trailed off and she frowned. Something felt… off. A realization was lurking just out of reach and it was going to drive her crazy. 

Shelly laughed nervously while looking at the ground. “Thanks, duuuu- I mean, Rena Rouge. I’m just glad it all worked out.” His eyes widened. “Wait. A part of the team? Am I... on for good?”

“If you want,” Truesight said as he recovered his tankard, “You can choose to walk away if you want, but I’d be happy if you stayed on. I feel as though you and Wayzz will be fine companions for each other.”

“Are you sure? Not that I don’t like it, dudes!” He hastily added. “It’s totally awesome! But, I’m sure there are other dudes who’d do a way better job.”

“I don’t know about that.” Ladybug approached the rest of them, having finished comforting the akuma victim. She smiled warmly at him. “You’ve got good instincts and you catch on quick. Plus, Chat tells me that he picked you himself and I trust his judgement.” She held out her fist and he smiled, returning the fist bump. “Welcome to the team…?”

“Uh,” he blinked, eyes going distant for a moment, “Carapace! Yeah, call me Carapace.” 

Ladybug nodded. “Welcome to the team, Carapace.”

He wore a dopey, adorable grin as the words really sank in with him, a smile that didn’t abate as Chat pulled him into a half hug, grinning like a fool himself. Truesight gave him a fatherly pat on the back as he chuckled. Fighting back her feelings of deja vu, she gave him a thumbs up when he looked her way. Whoever he was, he seemed like a good, genuine guy. 

After basking in their attention, his eyes went wide and he pulled away. “Sorry, dudes! I just realized I need to go find my friends!”

To Alya’s surprise, Chat Noir shrugged, unconcerned. “I’m sure they’re fine - the miraculous cure would’ve fixed anything that may have happened, assuming anything bad happened at all.”

“Pft! Dude, you must not know my girl then. If there is trouble, then she’ll find it. I love her and all, but she can be way too reckless for her own good.” Laughing, he continued, “I guess that’s part of the appeal, though. She’s way bold, got a totally righteous hunt for the truth thing about her.” A familiar doe-eyed expression crossed his face before his frown returned. _Wait just a second. I **know** that look from somewhere._ “I know the magic is legit and all, but I won’t feel better until I see her for myself. So… catch you guys later?”

“Sooner than you might think.” Truesight pulled out his sword and held it to the sky. “I think we all need to meet up, give you a proper welcome. Fill you in on what you ought to know.” The sword started glowing brightly. “I’ll leave it up to you lot to decide when that will be.” His helmet swiveled to Carapace. “Good to have you on the team, lad. Farewell.” 

A flash of light and he was gone. Alya and Carapace’s miraculous began to beep. 

“That sounds like my cue to bow out, dudes.” He finger gunned while leaving. “Catch you later!”

The other two surely said something similar, but Alya could only stand there and gawk as _her boyfriend fled the scene to find her_. She only just barely managed to avoid facepalming in front of the others. _Of **course** he would finger gun and call everyone dude. What else would he have done?_ Running off with only a rushed goodbye to the others, she tried to beat him there. Was it a testament to her journalist instincts that she figured it out so fast, or was it because her boyfriend was bad at acting like anyone but himself? She sighed - his genuine nature was part of the reason she loved him so much, but this time it actually worked against him. At least the magic would work to block out everyone else. Although, that left her with another question - Why didn’t the magic work for her? While she would love to say it was true love, it _clearly_ worked pretty well at keeping Ladybug and Chat Noir from finding out.

Chat Noir… He was the one who chose Nino and he hadn’t been gone long which meant that Nino was high on his list of potential miraculous users. But Chat Noir and Nino weren’t like her and Ladybug - with the Ladyblog, Alya had met the spotted heroine plenty of times before she was first called on to become Rena Rouge. The two boys didn’t interact much at all… or did they? After all, there was a certain blonde haired, green-eyed boy that he was closer to than anyone else (Alya excluded, obviously). 

Alya’s eyes narrowed. _And the plot thickens…_

\------------------------------------

_It was time._

_The portal was stable and a formless being of pure energy sat within it - a cloud of blacks, reds, greens, and white - more curious at its new surroundings than fearful or surprised. And why would it be? This was hardly the first time they had bargained like this, though if the ritual worked it would be the last. Soon, the pact would be struck and the need for such primitive conjurations would be moot._

_The entity he’d found was the most powerful one to date. No wonder - it claimed to hail from the dawn of reality and as a result its domain was reality itself. With five others of its kin having joined the cause, it had finally been swayed by his offers and had been convinced of the righteousness of his cause. After this, its lesser kin would flock to him and the Great Enemy would be pushed back at long last._

_The lump of attuned metal was placed at the center of the circle, beneath the cloud of power. The entity’s attention was a palpable thing as its wonder was directed to the new substance. Then again, all substance was new to the entity._

_As he began the ritual in earnest, Alric wondered what form the new object would take. It wouldn’t even necessarily be metal - the very first one had ended up as a gemstone, after all. They’d already gotten a necklace, a bracelet, a brooch, a haircomb, and a gemstone. His excited curiosity almost took the edge away from the dangers of the ritual._

_Almost._

_It was risky. Pouring so much of one’s self into something always was. So when he felt the entity’s power, panic began to take hold as he tried to keep the mana flowing through the right lattices. There was too much - far too much. For once in his life, his will was not up to the task and he felt himself being washed away. Nothing had prepared him for this sort of power and he bitterly berated himself that of course it was too much. This was a being that represented creation and destruction. He was merely human, and he had failed._

_In the midst of the flood, their consciousness touched. Their concern poured over him as he tried to hold back the deluge. Concern shifted to debate and then to resolve. A weight lifted from his shoulders as the single raging current split into two streams - each was strong, but manageable. The ritual finished, he fell to his knees and breathed heavily. Sweat poured from his face as he tilted his head toward the ceiling, offering a rare prayer of thanks to the gods. If they could even still hear him on this world._

_Hesitantly, he looked back into the ritual circle. He felt the split replay itself in his head. Worry gripped him. Had he killed the entity?_

_His eyes widened as he saw the metal had been formed into two objects - a pair of spotted earrings and a black ring._

\----------------------------------------

Marinette floated back to the present. For once, her dreams had not ended with her waking up in tears or fearful of the shadows. Instead, she felt… strangely tired, but incredibly satisfied. As if she had just stayed up all night finishing a beautiful dress rather than just waking up. She sat up and stretched, yawning. As the borrowed exhaustion faded away, she was left feeling well rested - something that had been happening and less and less frequently as she got further into her superhero career. 

But then again, with all these allies… maybe that was going to change soon.

While brushing her hair, her fingers touched her miraculous and vague memories of her dream were stirred up. She had gotten used to the dreams by now, even if they only appeared infrequently, but these felt… different. In the previous dreams, she had felt a bond with the person she was seeing through the eyes of. But this new person… there was a connection, true, but it was buried deep. Faint and hard to sense, but a strong connection nonetheless. 

That was the second dream she’d had that had no previous Ladybug in it. Maybe she should bring it up to Truesight. Today was the day of the meeting, a full week after the fight that brought Carapace - _Nino_ \- into the team. Now the whole gang had a miraculous and Marinette could feel a little bit better about ‘abandoning’ her friends in the middle of an akuma attack. Hopefully now Nino wouldn’t try to get footage for the Ladyblog. Alya would just have to make do with second hand reports from now on. 

“Got a lot on your mind, Marinette?” A light weight settled on her shoulder and she saw some red out of the corner of her eyes.

“Just thinking about Nino and Alya and all that.” She pulled her hair back into her pigtails and stood up, Tikki floating beside her. Biting her lip, she added, “It feels weird that my best friends are the ones who got the miraculous, but I can’t exactly say why. Does that make sense?”

“Is it because you are worried about people you know getting hurt, or is it because you are afraid that they got their roles because of favoritism rather than ability?” 

Marinette froze, blinking and turned to look properly at Tikki. She was amazed at her kwami’s ability to cut right to the heart of her anxieties. “Both, I think? Truesight has made it super clear that it is only going to get more and more dangerous. If I let my heart choose rather than my head, are they going to pay for that?”

“Marinette, there is nothing to worry about! If they weren’t a good match, then Alric wouldn’t let them keep the miraculous. And if they didn’t have the heart for the job then they wouldn’t have accepted at all.” She placed a paw on Marinette’s cheek. “I know that I can’t stop you being scared for their safety. But you need to have faith in your friends!"

Sighing, the teenage heroine asked, “Is this why you guys wanted us to keep our identities a secret? So we wouldn’t get too attached to each other?”

Tikki nodded apologetically. “That’s part of it. Not that it stops you from becoming close to each other, but it is easier to fight without holding back if you think of your partner as a superhero and not as their civilian identity.”

Digesting this new information, Marinette sat down at her computer to pull up some tutorials and references. It was still morning and they wouldn’t be meeting up until sunset. After a moment of thought, she sent a text to Adrien and one to Alya. Even if she was going to see them later today (not that Alya knew that), it’d be nice to talk while she worked. 

Soon enough, she was back to a level of busy that she was comfortable with… at least until Tikki reminded her to get breakfast a few hours in. 

\-------------------------------

Amazingly, Marinette did _not_ lose track of time and show up late to the meeting. As much as she wished she did it on her own, it was only through a text from Adrien telling her he was heading out to Master Fu’s shop that reminded her of the time. A faint smile pulled at her lips as she swung across the Parisian skyline. Already the reveal was paying off - she didn’t have to remember everything by herself.

The route she’d taken to Master Fu’s was a well worn one and she got there practically on muscle memory alone. It gave her plenty of time to wonder what Truesight had planned for the meeting. He certainly hadn’t mentioned training or patrol or anything. Maybe he wanted to schedule those things? Or maybe he just wanted Nino to feel welcomed into the team. Possibly give him the same speech he gave Alya, since now they weren’t in the heat of battle?

She didn’t reach a conclusive answer before landing in a back alley and slipping into the small shop. Gathered around the table were Chat Noir and Rena Rouge, both of them already seated with Master Fu between them. While Chat was seated very properly as he sipped his tea - fitting with all his Chinese lessons - Rena was doing her best to lounge and relax. Both their ears twitched at Ladybug’s arrival and they turned to face her, their faces lighting up in unison. 

“My lady! Good to see you.” Rena flashed Chat a weird look at him saying ‘my lady’, as if it wasn’t something he said every time he saw her.

“Sup, girl! You about ready to party?”

“Hey, guys.” Smiling, Marinette took the seat opposite Master Fu, bowing slightly to him once seated. “Good evening, Master Fu.”

Returning the smile, the old man simply nodded in response.

Looking around, Marinette noticed that both the guest of honor and their other teacher were absent. “Where’s the rest of them?”

“The Founder is still on patrol, but he was planning on ending it earlier to be here on time,” Fu replied. “I cannot say what keeps Carapace.”

“Darn. I was hoping to talk with Truesight before we got started. I’ve been having weird dreams again.”

Rena’s face screwed up in confusion. “I thought we all had the dreams. About past bearers, right?”

“Yeah, but this isn’t that. I think?” She looked into the distance as she tried to remember the first vision and the one from earlier today. “Like, I can usually _feel_ the connection between the dream person and me, but this felt… different. Plus, I think I _saw_ my miraculous get made.”

Leaning forward, she excitedly said, “Girl! Tell me all the details!” 

Figuring that if anyone besides Truesight could make sense of it, then it was Alya or Master Fu, Marinette decided to tell her as much as she could remember. Not that there was a lot - the dreams weren’t particularly long, and most of it was fuzzy and faded, as all dreams tend to be. By the end of her recounting, Rena was covering her mouth with her hand in thought, squinting into the distance. A glance to Master Fu and he was completely unmoved, smiling faintly into his tea. 

“So… any ideas, Rena?”

“I think so, and I might be able to prove it once I see him next. Tonight could get pretty… enlightening.”

“These meetings always are,” Master Fu murmured. “I admit to some curiosity about who now wields my-” A flash of sadness was visible before being swept away, “I mean, the turtle miraculous.”

“Oh… Master Fu, I’m sorry-” The old man held up a hand to stop her. 

“It is alright. I shouldn’t have held a miraculous at all, let alone for so long. It was bound to happen eventually.” He sighed before admitting, “I suppose I was still holding out hope that things wouldn’t get so desperate.”

A faint sound of thunder filtered up from below and not long after Truesight had walked back up the stairs. To her surprise, he was wearing what she assumed meant to be street clothes, even if they were worn anything but casually. Maybe it was because she knew the man wearing them, but he felt starkly out of place in the jeans and plain t-shirt, as if it was a bad photoshop rather than reality. It didn’t help that he was holding his scabbard which he set on a bookshelf as he entered the room.

He smiled at the gathered heroes. “I’m glad I’m not the last one to arrive at least. I tried to finish my patrol as quickly as was safely possible.”

Master Fu passed a cup to him as he took a seat between him and Chat Noir. “Any news to report?”

“None. Which I am thankful for, even if it sets me on edge.” 

They heard the door open and Carapace walked in, to everyone’s cheers. He seemed surprised at the attention and pulled nervously at the top of his hood.

“Hey, dudes! How’s it going?” He settled down between her and Chat Noir, Marinette scooting closer to Rena to give him room. 

“That,” Truesight said, starting to stand, “is to be decided.”

As Marinette had suspected, he rolled right into a similar speech he had given Rena Rouge. At first, Nino had shrunk back as the heavy responsibilities were being laid on his shoulders. He looked uncertain of himself. Whether it was self doubt or feeling out of place among them, she couldn’t say. Something changed in the new hero when the ultimatum was presented to him: Abandon the miraculous forever, or take up the fight against evil. It was like a switch was flipped - there was a fire in his eyes and he squared his jaw. The fear was still there. It may have been hidden away but she could see it in the slight tremor in his hands, and in the way his eyes would dart between those gathered. He was afraid, but he accepted the position, just like Alya before him. 

While they were congratulating Carapace on joining them for good, Rena finished her tea and idly asked, “Hey, Truesight?” Still smiling, he looked over to her. “There is still another miraculous in the box, right? Couldn’t you take up the last one?”

Shaking his head, he replied, “No. I cannot wield the miraculous.”

“Why not? If Master Fu could bend the rules a little, why can’t you?”

“It isn’t a matter of not wanting to. The miraculous simply don’t function if I try to use them.” 

“So, you’ve never worn the miraculous?”

“No. As I said, it would be a futile effort.”

“Then why has Ladybug had dreams from your perspective?”

It was a bad time for him to have tried to take a sip and he ended up choking on his tea. The other conversation died out as everyone began awaited his reply. Even Master Fu was watching him curiously. 

“I… have a connection with the miraculous. I created them, after all.” Seeing the mix of shock and realization around the table, he continued. “Let me start at the beginning.”

Leaning back, he adopted his lecturing tone. “The Great Enemy once walked this world in great numbers. So vast was the threat they posed that a cabal of old sorcerers expended their arcane might to call for help. They believed they were beseeching the gods, but their plea missed the heavens and rattled off into the void… where it eventually reached my home. That is a story all its own, but suffice it to say I answered the call.” His eyes got a faraway look to them as he recalled old memories. “When I was first called to this world, it was filled with magic, wild and untamed.” He scoffed. “Of course, this came at the cost of it being tainted by the Great Enemy and steadily driving its users insane, but some saw this as well worth the risk.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow. “Why didn’t you go crazy then?”

“I had been using magic all my life and the source I drew from was pure. My body was hardened to mana, and made it easier to resist the filth in this world’s.”

“Still, shouldn’t you have suffered _some_ consequences?” 

Taking a sip of his tea, he continued. “I did. Magic users from my world, if they aren’t killed outright, tend to age only slowly and die well beyond their peers. Here, I only made it to my ninetieth year before my body began to fail.”

“‘ _Only ninety_ ’ he says,” Chat Noir grumbled.

“Why isn’t there magic now?” Rena leaned on the table, eyeing Truesight.

“That is another story entirely. Anyway,” he continued over Rena’s protests, “with such raw magic available, I was a force all my own. At first, things were going well - I marched at the head of an army of chariots and spearmen to one of the fronts and halted an attack on my own. I had saved a village and returned to the capital, only to find that on other fronts three other settlements had been razed.”

Truesight’s jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed at the remembered failure. 

“It was then that I realized that one person couldn’t do it alone. I threw myself into study, searching for an answer and found none. I walked through the capital to clear my head and heard a storyteller sing. I listened to a tale about an ancient conjurer who had attempted to attain ultimate power by capturing benevolent spirits and wielding their magic as his own. It did not end well for the conjurer, but I felt my cause was more righteous than mere self gain. With no other options, I began searching the other side.”

“Let me guess,” Rena Rouge interjected, “you found the kwami?”

“Indeed. The legend was true. They were dubious about my offer, but they came around eventually after I offered my oaths to protect them and use their aid for the betterment of humankind.” He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling. “The process was… difficult. Risky. The first couple attempts were unstable, but Nooroo was patient and dedicated.”

“Can it really have been that dangerous, dude? Sure, the transformation is pretty sweet, but what’s the worst that happened? Explosions?”

“Nothing so dramatic. But the early miraculous had a tendency to… well, kill the users. Too much power too quickly. If it wasn’t a quick death by oversaturation, then it was a slow death by poison. The kwami may very well be the only benevolent powers on the other side, but their mana still flows through that plane. By the time it enters the body, it carries the corruption.” 

All of the miraculous heroes were silent, until Marinette asked, “Are we in danger? How long do we have?” She was surprised at how well she kept her voice together.

Truesight brushed it aside. “You don’t need to worry about it since I found a solution. All the miraculous I have made had this inclusion.”

Rena’s eyes lit up. “Does this ‘inclusion’ have something to do with the fact that Ladybug can dream of your memories? That we can dream about other people’s memories at all?”

“Aye.” He took a deep breath and said, “There were only two things that had a functional immunity to the corruption. There was the kwami, but their power alone clearly wasn’t enough. The second… was myself.” He chuckled. “It was dangerous. Not even back home was soul magic truly understood - only the gods had absolute mastery of it. I was laboring in darkness. Each miraculous I built, I risked destroying myself - body and soul. But it worked.”

Idly, Marinette brushed a hand against her earrings and saw she wasn’t alone in the gesture. Chat stared into his ring, Rena clutched her necklace as if she wanted to take it off, Carapace fiddled with his bracelet. There was an air of discomfort in the room.

“You shoved bits of your soul into the miraculous.” Rena’s question came off more as a statement, but Truesight answered it regardless.

“Aye. But a soul cannot be divided. Each miraculous holds the entirety of my soul and simultaneously a small portion of it.” Their lack of comprehension must have shown since he gestured broadly in the air, as if reaching for an answer. “It’s like.. A soul is a thread and the miraculous are needles that it has been wrapped around. It is an unbroken chain and it connects all the others, but no one needle holds the whole thread.”

“I… see…” Chat Noir furrowed his brow in thought. “But what about the dreams?”

“Like I said, soul magic is not well understood by us mortals. There were many side effects I was unaware of when crafting. From what I understand, having a soul in the objects means that it is easier for souls to brush against the object and leave an impression. At first, all we saw was skills from previous bearers filter down to the next. The dreams took generations to start.”

“It sounds way too much like Voldemort for my liking.” Chat Noir shook his head, then glanced suspiciously at Truesight. “You didn’t kill anyone to pull it off, right?”

“No! The sacrifice was purely on my part.” He paused. “What is a Voldemort?”

After giving him a rough explanation of horcruxes and the Dark Lord himself, Truesight laughed. “Not a far off analogy, actually, since the miraculous are also how I return from death.” 

“Woah, dude, back up. ‘Return from death’?! Are you serious?”

“How else would I defend this world for five thousand years? I am still mortal, however technically that is at this point. If left to its own devices, I naturally return every few generations.”

Master Fu frowned. “Forgive me, but I have lived for a long time, Founder. I doubt that I missed previous arrivals. If nothing else, Wayzz is very good at sensing such changes.”

“Aye, I suspect that I’ve been gone for a while, though I don’t know why that is or what caused my long absence. But I made the ritual just for that purpose - to forcibly summon me in case I am needed.”

Rena Rouge had a faraway look as she took everything in. “Alright. So. I get it was a risk to make the miraculous. But why stop at seven? Where did the others come from?”

“The last miraculous I made were that of the Black Cat and Ladybug. I nearly lost myself there and I knew if I tried to push myself again, I would truly be doomed. There was no doubt in my mind.” His face become unreadable and he started drumming his fingers in irritation on the table. “As for the others, I don’t wish to speak of them.”

While it was clear she wasn’t pleased with it, Rena accepted the end of the discussion. They sat in a reflective silence, finishing their tea as they mulled over what Truesight had told them. In the end, it was Master Fu who broke the quiet.

“This has all been very… illuminating, but I must begin my evening rituals.” Master Fu stood and gave a shallow bow to everyone else. “Good night, young ones, and good luck.”

Once he had left the room, Rena Rouge stood and stretched her legs. “That sounds like a dismissal to me.” She glanced at Truesight. “So unless there is something else…?”

“Woah, dudes, don’t we need to do secret kung fu training or run through Paris or something?” Carapace hesitantly got to his feet, prompting Marinette and Chat Noir to follow. “I usually have a few days free…”

It didn’t take long to hammer out the details of the new schedule. They wouldn’t meet as often for the entire group training, and Carapace had to get extra solo sessions to help him catch up, but it was all worked out in the end. Since there was now an even number of miraculous heroes, they could split into equal groups to make sure Paris was patrolled frequently. Rena Rouge offered herself readily to be Carapace’s patrol partner for most of his routes. It was almost suspiciously quick, but Marinette shrugged it off and soon they were all walking out the door, covered in the dead of night.

Unknown to them, a pair of eyes watched four heroes leave the quaint little shop.


	28. Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Without big projects or impending deadlines to worry about, the gang can finally do some relaxing and the couples can enjoy each other's company. But just because things are quiet doesn't mean they are excused from their superhero training.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the nearly three month hiatus on this story! I decided to shift my focus towards getting my monthly prompts finished at long last, but by the time I'd started to get caught up on Fictober and August Fluff Month, I'd gotten involved in Marinette March. Then it was April and the love square months began. It was bothering me how long I'd gone without updating this story, so I put extra time aside to get an update written and beta'd. 
> 
> Today's chapter is fairly large as a result, being around 10k words. I hope that makes up for lost time! Enjoy!

Adrien stepped into the bakery in the aftermath of the lunch rush, the shelves and display cases looking barren after nearly being picked clean by the onslaught of customers. Despite this, the bakery smelled as sweet and pleasant as ever and he inhaled deeply to take in the aroma of sugar and fresh bread. He’d always enjoyed it, but now that he associated it with Marinette, the scent had become twice as sweet. 

The ringing of the bell above the door opening had Sabine snap to attention, a pleasant smile plastered on her face. 

“Hello! Welcome to-” Her eyes landed on Adrien and she relaxed, putting a hand on her chest in relief. “Oh thank goodness it’s you.”She smiled again, genuinely this time. “How are you dear?”

“Hi! I’m good, thank you.” Once at the counter, he looked around pointedly at the ransacked bakery. “Busy day?”

Sabine laughed. “Yes, thanks to you dear.” She noticed his confusion and took one of his hands to pat it. “It seems your frequent visits here haven’t gone unnoticed by your fans. More than a few of them have started showing up, curious about why you keep coming here.” There was a glint of mischief in her eyes as she continued, “We might have stolen a few of them from you. I hope you don’t mind?”

Smiling back, he ducked his head sheepishly. “I would be more than happy to share my fans with all of you.” Standing straight again, he shivered. “And if it means they are too busy eating delicious sweets to be after me, all the better.” He adjusted his hand on his bag, weighed down by textbooks and homework. “Is Marinette home?”

“Yes, she’s in the living room with Tom. They’re taking a break after the rush.” Seeing he was about to protest, she added. “It’s fine, dear, once Marinette is done with him, he’ll take my spot and I can take a break. You don’t need to offer to help out front again.”

Blushing at the memory of that ill-fated previous attempt to help the Dupain-Chengs, he nodded. “I’m really sorry about that, Sabine. I didn’t think people would get that excited to see me, especially since I was behind the counter.”

She straightened his overshirt and replied, “Don’t worry yourself too much about it. You more than made up for the backlog and damages. Besides, I know Tom loves having more help baking, and from all the punning we hear up here, I can tell you enjoy it too.”

Which was true, although it wasn’t just because he found a kindred punny soul in Tom. That was a big part of it, granted - Marinette just didn’t appreciate the work and wit that went into his humor like Tom did. Still, growing up he hadn’t had much experience in the kitchen since all his meals were prepared for him. Just the occasional stolen moments late at night baking cookies, a secret they had kept from his father. Once his mom vanished, those moments had disappeared right along with her. Baking… made it feel like things were normal again. At least, as normal as his life got. 

Returning to the conversation, he smiled at Sabine and said, “Yeah… I really do.” He cleared his throat once he realized he might have made it awkward with how wistful his voice had been. “Living room you said?” At her nod, he darted through the doorway and into the home proper.

The Dupain-Cheng household was becoming as familiar to Adrien as his own home was - the past few months of frequent visits had seen to that. Knowing that Marinette’s attention would be completely consumed by what she was doing right now, he leisurely made his way to the living room, taking his time to look at what they had seen fit to decorate their homes with. Cultural pieces, from both Tom’s Italian side and Sabine’s Chinese heritage. The many momentos of Marinette growing up - another reason to take his time now, since she seemed to find most of them endlessly embarrassing. Adrien, on the other hand, thought they were adorable. He hadn’t known Marinette before going to school, so he was more than eager to take in every scrap of information he could get about little Marinette. 

It was all such a stark contrast to the decoration at the Agreste mansion, which was there for style and had little to do with the people living there. There was the exception of a few large paintings of the family, but many of those had been taken down. Adrien had always wondered if those busts and abstract art hadn’t simply come with the house. They’d been there for as long as he could remember, so it was very possible. 

As he was musing about his home decor, he opened the door to the living room where Tom and Marinette were seated on the couch, locked in a bitter Mecha Strike IV battle. It had been an early birthday present to her from Adrien, but in his excitement he had failed to realize that now she could practice and beat him _even more soundly_ than she had while they were in the resort. 

Adrien set his bag down quietly as he watched the fight unfold. It was a very close match - they must not have had a lot of experience with the game yet. While Marinette was focused entirely on the screen, Tom was splitting his attention between the game and taunting Marinette. He even went so far as to playfully nudge her to try to break her focus. Grinning evilly, Adrien got an idea and crept up behind her. When the right moment came, he leapt forward to give her a hug from behind, followed swiftly by a kiss on a cheek.

“Hey, Mari!”

It was a brief distraction as she blushed and got flustered, but it was enough for Tom to pull ahead. Shooting a nasty glare at him, Marinette pushed his face aside and he rolled with it, flipping himself over the couch and settling in nice and close to her. Despite her suspicious glance in his direction, he didn’t do anything more to mess up her match. There was no need; the damage had been done and Tom won. Behind Marinette’s back, the two men shared a high five. 

“That’s not fair, papa! You got help!”

“All’s fair in love and Mecha Strike, honey. Now, I’d be happy to give you a rematch to show you the finer points of Tom Style, but I really need to give your mom a break.” He gave his still pouting daughter a kiss on the forehead as he left the room, sparing a wink and a thumbs up for Adrien, which he returned. 

When he looked back to his girlfriend, she was glaring at him with her eyes narrowed, still holding onto her controller as the game found its way back to the title screen. Shifting uncomfortably under her intense stare, he opened his mouth to ask forgiveness when she shoved the other controller into his hands.

“I’ll destroy you for that, sunshine.”

“If you insist, pigtails. Don’t expect an easy fight from me, though.”

“Oh dear. The poor naive boy still hasn’t learned his lesson.” She sighed dramatically as she selected her fighter and they started their duel. “Just don’t cry when I destroy you, okay? That’d be embarrassing for both of us.” He rolled his eyes playfully at her trash talk, already getting absorbed into the game.

Despite her confidence, the first fight was close and so were the ones after it. It was just that no matter how close he got, Marinette always beat him. Sometimes it was luck - just the right time for her moves to recharge or for a power up to land her way. Most of the time it was skill. Fighting akumas had really brought out her ability to plan a few steps ahead, especially in the chaos of a brawl. Even though he was losing, he couldn’t be too mad. At least she was smiling and laughing again. A tremor went through him when she stretched out on the couch, laying her legs over his as they fought. He briefly thought that this was her way of getting back at him for his distraction tactics earlier, but no, she was watching the screen with her tongue sticking out, a sure sign of her absolute concentration-

“No!” He cried out as Marinette whooped in victory. Busy watching her painfully adorable face, he’d lost the match. Sighing, he set down the controller and held his hands up. “Okay, okay. You win, you’re the better player. For now, at least.”

“And you better not forget it this time.” She walked over to the television and turned the game off. “Want to head upstairs? We are _technically_ supposed to be studying, you know.”

Snagging his bag from where he left it, he fell in behind her. “Lead on, my lady.”

There were only a couple weeks left of school before summer break and the two of them could look forward to a dense maze of projects, exams, and work before being free. It wasn’t ideal, but neither particularly minded. After all, it gave them plenty of excuses for spending time together. Some of those times they actually got work done. Thinking back to their last attempt at studying, which devolved into two hours of cozy conversation and making out, Adrien got the feeling this probably won’t be a productive session. At least not in terms of homework. 

Before he followed her up, he opened his jacket to let Plagg fly out. Sure, he could escape on his own, but it always felt weird when Plagg phases through him. 

“Ugh, finally. Took you two long enough to get up here. I expected you would have made a beeline for here, what with how mopey you’ve been lately.”

Adrien’s face flushed, partly from irritation and partly from embarrassment. They hadn’t gotten a chance to really hang out since the big akuma fight a little over a week ago. Sure, he wasn’t enthusiastic about it, but mopey was pushing it. Reaching into his bag, he passed a cube of cheese to Plagg. The kwami took the bribe for what it was and zipped off somewhere into the room, no doubt looking for Tikki.

That little issue taken care of, he climbed the ladder to get to Marinette. To his surprise, she was curled up on the bed, clutching a pillow as she stared into the wall. 

“...Mari? Is something wrong?”

She twisted to look at him. “Does it always feel that awful?”

“Does what?” He asked as he sat down next to her.

“Mind control,” she replied with a shudder.

His heart went out to her. Each time it happened to him had been unpleasant, no matter how long it lasted. The worst part was not knowing what exactly he did and said while he was under. Marinette certainly didn’t like to talk about what happens those times, leaving him with just shaky footage from bystanders or the news. Then there would be the brief rash of fearful hate on the Internet, which she had thankfully avoided this time. A few forum threads he’d read on the Ladyblog flashed through his head. ‘Is Chat Noir a detriment in the fight against Hawkmoth?’ ‘Does Chat Noir secretly want Ladybug’s downfall?’ ‘When will Chat Noir be turned against us next?’ All of them would swiftly get deleted by Alya, but he checked the site religiously and found them before she did.

This was the first akuma that had managed to snare one of them in a while. His meditations with Truesight hadn’t been put to the test yet, but the hero had enough faith in the tactic that he talked about adding it to everyone’s training regime. Too little too late, in Adrien’s opinion.

He looked at her, curled up on the bed in a mix of fear and nausea. For a moment he considered lying to her to spare her from the truth, but he knew that she’d hate it if he did. With a sigh, he replied honestly, “Yes. Gaps in my memory are bad enough, but knowing that I tried to help Hawkmoth, tried to hurt _you_ , is terrible.”

She sat up only to lean against his chest limply as he wrapped his arms around her. “It felt _awful_ , kitty. I can’t believe you’ve had to go through this so many times. I’m so sorry.”

A wry smile found its way onto his face. “Believe me, bugaboo, it was bad when it happened to me, but it was way worse watching it happen to you. I thought I lost you. If it weren’t for Truesight giving me direction…” His voice broke. “I don’t know what I’d do.”

And then the tears were flowing freely, finally uncorking the emotions they’d been bottling up since the close call with the last akuma. It was liberating, to finally have someone who he knew he could share everything with and become completely vulnerable like this. His carefully constructed cage of a life had denied him from forming anything close to this before and he just wanted to live in this moment with her forever, curled up together and letting go. Eventually, Marinette pushed away from him, wiping the tears from her eyes and sniffling. They both sat up and she flashed him a smile.

“Thanks for that, kitty. I feel much better now.”

Wiping away his own tears, he replied, “I should be thanking you. I think I’ve needed a good cry for, like, the last couple years now.”

“Well, maybe there’s a way for us both to show our gratitude,” she said while leaning in.

“Oh? And what’s that?” He replied with a grin.

Their lips brushed against each other, and the world with all its troubles almost faded away once again…

“Ha! Go Fish, sugarcube!”

...Only for them to be brought back into the moment by their kwami yelling from down below. They peered over the edge and saw the immortal beings struggling with hands of cards about as big as they were. 

“Really, guys?” Adrien’s displeasure was clear in his voice. “We were having a thing up here.”

“Don’t worry, you aren’t bothering us,” Plagg replied with a cheese-eating grin. “You two can keep going if you want, me and sugarcube have seen it all a hundred times or more already.” 

While he wasn’t happy with that, he was about to take up the offer when he noticed with dismay that Marinette was climbing down the ladder. “Probably for the best. We should at least pretend to be studying.”

“I guess…” He perked up a little. “Maybe later though...?”

Giggling, she replied, “Maybe later.”

Once they were seated at her computer desk, she moved her book closer to her as Adrien reached into his bag for his textbook. Marinette reached down after he had found his and pulled out his Chinese worksheets. 

“How are the lessons going?”

Adrien shrugged. “About as well as you can expect. I’m far from fluent, but I can at least hold a conversation.”

She bit her lower lip. “You know, I’ve been wondering…”

“Always a dangerous game,” Plagg chimed in from nearby. Tikki shushed him.

“Could you help me learn Mandarin?”

“I’d love to, but… is it really my place? Doesn’t your mom speak it?”

“She does, I’ve heard her talk to our family back in China. But...” Marinette shook her head sadly. “She never taught me. I don’t know why.” She took a breath. “Anyway, her birthday is coming up. I thought it would be nice to surprise her with it. Plus, it’d be cool to connect more with my heritage, right?”

He smiled. “The coolest. But, why now? It’s not like this is her first birthday with me around.”

“Well, one, I can talk to you coherently in French now. I might’ve exploded if we spent all that time together before now.” He grinned, pleased at the effect he has on her. _Had_ on her, he corrected. “Second, ever since that talk with Truesight, I’ve been thinking about our histories. How can I continue the miraculous tradition when I’ve missed out on so many of my own?”

“Fair point. I’m not sure how good a teacher I’ll be since I’m still a student myself, but I can teach you a little.” Brightening, he added, “And hey! After you surprise her with it, maybe she can give both of us some lessons?”

Ruffling his hair, she said, “That’s the spirit. Now, let’s see if we can get this classwork out of the way.

\------------------------------------------------

Alya took her seat at the pizzeria as the waiter left the table. She trusted Nino enough to know what she likes, and besides, she wanted to make him extra happy today. Which was why she let him drag her to an action flick. Granted, she owed him after the romantic comedy they’d watched a couple weeks back, but letting that get squared away today helped her cause doubly. It’d make probing for information all the easier. 

The certainty she’d felt about Carapace being Nino had faded only slightly. The hero was so new there just wasn’t any other proof to gather, just mannerisms, similar appearance, and her gut instinct. To her that should’ve been enough to be completely certain, but something was making her question it. No doubt it was the magic of the miraculous whispering in her ear, ‘Pay no attention to the man in the turtle suit. He is definitely not Nino. Move along.’

She hadn’t revealed herself, of course. Beside that lingering uncertainty, there was still a lot of doors that were open to her while this partial reveal was in play. Like, for example…

“How do you feel about the new hero? Carapace, right?” She asked as nonchalantly as she could manage. 

Choking on his drink, it took a few moments before Nino was composed enough to respond. “Um, he uh, he seems pretty cool, I guess. What about you?”

Showtime. “Pretty cool? I dunno, babe.” His expression fell for a moment. “I’d say he’s pretty _hot_.” She winked as his cheeks became ruddy. “Don’t be too jealous, though. There is only room for one amazing boy in my heart. Though I clearly have a type.”

“T-type?”

“Mhm. You look kinda similar to Carapace, don’t you think? Plus he seems like a pretty relaxed guy, a lot like you. Crazy, isn’t it?”

Grinning far too wide, he laughed nervously. “Y-yeah! Crazy…” He cleared his throat. “Sorry about the video, though. You didn’t get any good footage of, uh, Carapace for the Ladyblog.”

“That’s alright. I didn’t get anything for Rena Rouge either when she first appeared. I guess I only got lucky once, when I got the first scoop on Ladybug and Chat Noir.” She sighed dramatically. “Although we were so close this time. Just a couple more minutes of footage and we might’ve had him.” She took a sip of her drink. “What did you say made you stop filming again?”

“Well, uh… I heard some noises in the building I was hiding in. I thought it might be spawn so I hightailed it outta there. No way was I gonna be another akuma’s puppet, I had enough of that with Zombisou. So, uh, by the time I shook them off, they had gotten out of there. Which is when I went looking for you guys. So, uh... yeah.” He drummed his fingers on the table.

“I’m glad you made it out of there. I was pretty worried when I lost track of you, but at least you spent the time productively. I just ended up hiding in the bushes for most of the time.” They shared a laugh and she reached out for his hand. “I really do appreciate when you get footage for the Ladyblog. But you really don’t have to, you know? I’d rather know my boyfriend is safe and not chasing after danger on my behalf.”

There was relief in his eyes, but also uncertainty. She’d been trying to give him an easy out so he wouldn’t have to make excuses for himself when he inevitably had to become Carapace. “But what about the Ladyblog? Two people looking for footage are better than one.”

“I’m thinking I’ll just have to make due with speculation pieces and bringing all things miraculous together to one place.”

“Does that mean…?”

“Yeah. I won’t be running head first into danger anymore.” Nino breathed out a sigh in relief and she cocked her eyebrow. “Don’t get too excited there, cappy.”

“Sorry, babe. It’s just nice to know I won’t have to worry about you getting caught in the middle of an akuma fight.”

Nino, you don’t know the half of it…

\------------------------------------------------

The rain was starting to really come down now, but Nino didn’t mind. He’d always enjoyed the rain, but he’d started to like it even more in the brief month he’d been using his miraculous. Another side effect of being Carapace, or at least that’s what Wayzz had said. Now he didn’t just like the sound and smell of the storm, he enjoyed being out and walking in it. At first, he’d been worried about getting cold or sick from it, but apparently that wasn’t as much of a concern for him now.

Looking down at his green-clad fist, Nino reflected that there were a lot of changes happening recently. Not all of them magical. At least he had Wayzz to help him out and explain all the mystic stuff. The nature of his powers. Truesight and the kwami. It was… a lot to take in. Made all the worse by the fact that he couldn’t talk to his best friends about it. 

Nino slipped in the back door of the shop, the rain quickly sliding off him and leaving him none the worse for wear. A grin found its way onto his face - With his hood, he’d be perfectly dry in just a few minutes. Maybe that was the protective nature of his miraculous at work even on the small things?

Seated in the middle of the room was Master Fu and Truesight. The latter was watching the muted television. It was still jarring to see Truesight out of his armor. Like a lot of Parisians, Nino had started to forget that there was a normal, flesh and blood person inside that shining armor. Meanwhile, Master Fu was seated on the ground and sipping tea. His eyes were closed and Nino was sure his thoughts were roaming. 

For a few moments, Nino stood awkwardly at the entrance. He’d arrived early, so it was just him and these great masters. After his… orientation, for lack of a better word, Nino had come to the startling realization that these two were the true force behind this fight. Without them, there wouldn’t be the other miraculous heroes. Master Fu’s eyes suddenly opened, startling Nino.

“Carapace. You seem troubled. Please, sit.” Master Fu gestured to a spot across the table from him, where a hot cup of tea was already waiting. Truesight was prying his eyes away from a news broadcast to turn his attention towards him. “What clouds your mind?”

“I… dunno, duuuu-, uh, sirs? I just… I’ll get over it soon enough. It’s nothing that important.” He’d already told everyone who’d listened that he had doubts. If he kept harping on about it, maybe they’d get tired of him and take the miraculous back. Which might not be an entirely bad thing, but he’d started to grow attached to Wayzz.

Truesight raised an eyebrow. “No offense, lad, but I don’t believe you for a moment.” His gaze softened. “We can’t help you if you don’t tell us what is wrong.”

“Really, it’s nothing.” Nino sighed at their continued stares. “It’s just all up here, you know?” He tapped his forehead. “Nothing real, just… doubts, I guess.”

“Up here,” Truesight put a finger to his temple, “is where our most bitter wars are fought. Just because they aren’t waged with muscle doesn’t mean they aren’t real.” He took a sip from his flagon. “Now. You have doubts. That’s fairly common, is it not, Fu?”

The wizened old man nodded. “It is almost unheard of for a hero to _not_ doubt themselves at first. Certainly, all those who bear the miraculous at present were uncertain when they began.”

“Woah, seriously? But…” Nino thought of the others. It felt like forever ago, but he’d seen the first videos of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Alya had shown him her crowning achievement who knows how many times. They… weren’t as confident as they were now. Maybe the old masters knew what they talking about? “Still. There are _loads_ of people in Paris. What makes me any better than anyone else? There’s _got_ to be someone better qualified for this.”

Truesight snorted. “Aye, so many folks these days training to use ancient magical relics. Practically beating down the door. We have to push them away with brooms.”

Master Fu pursed his lips in irritation as he side eyed Truesight. “What the Grandmaster is trying to say is that the only true qualifications that matter are the temperament and spirit of the chosen in question.” His full attention returned to Nino as he smiled knowingly as him. “And I wore the turtle miraculous for long decades. I can sense a kindred spirit in you - your energy aligns well with that of the miraculous.” He took another sip of tea. “I know that Chat Noir made a wise decision.”

“Woah, wait a minute.” Nino crossed his arms in an x shape. “Chat Noir chose me? I thought that he just delivered it to me.”

“I chose Ladybug and Chat Noir. But they have selected who will aid them.” Master Fu stroked his beard. “They were even the ones to call Truesight to our assistance.”

“What did you think we did, kid?” Truesight watched him with curiosity.

Nino gestured into the distance. “Well, you know… Something totally magic like reading the stars or some scroll with names in it or something.” He felt his cheeks heat up as the other two stared blankly at him. “Okay, so saying that out loud sounds kinda… dumb.”

“I tried to find my way by the stars when I got here. Your damnable lights prevented me from getting my bearings,” Truesight grumbled. Louder, he added, “Listen - I told Chat Noir to find a loyal and stalwart person and give them the turtle miraculous. He brought it to you. I haven’t questioned his decision yet. Does that help set your mind at ease?”

Nodding slowly, Nino felt a smile dawn. Loyal and stalwart, huh? “Yeah, actually. It does.”

Truesight stood and clapped Nino on the shoulder. “Good. I sense the others are almost here. Let us go below and get ready for them.”

\------------------------------------------------

Adrien stepped into Master Fu’s shop a few minutes after Marinette-as-Ladybug had, despite arriving at the same time. The delay was deliberate, however. Until the early hours of the morning, it wasn’t safe for them to enter or exit more than one at a time. Since he was a gentleman, he had bowed and allowed her to go in before him. 

He passed through the darkened rooms of Master Fu’s abode. The last guardian himself was probably sleeping, but his sharpened senses could pick up voices from the basement. A grin came to his face. It felt good to spar and train, especially since the whole gang was here now - even if two of them didn’t realize it. Once he was partway down the ladder, Adrien started listening to the conversation. 

“Gah! That tickles. What are you even looking for?!” He recognized the voice of his lady as his feet touched the ground. 

The two newest heroes spared a quick glance and a wave to him, but their attention was mostly on Ladybug and Truesight standing in the middle of the room. There was a mix of confusion and amusement on their faces as they watched Truesight proding Ladybug in the back. His eyes were narrowed as he focused on some point on her shoulder blades.

“Do you feel any different, lass?”

“No…?” She rolled her shoulders. “Maybe a bit itchy back there?”

“Makes sense,” Truesight mumbled.

“Uh… so what’s happening here?” Adrien stepped into the room.

“The power of the Ladybug miraculous flows through her with greater potency. Soon, new abilities will be made available to her.”

Her eyes widened and she craned her neck back, as if she could look at her own back. “Seriously? That’s amazing! What can I expect?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out…” Truesight mumbled as he began looking over Ladybug some more.

“Shouldn’t you know? You’ve seen a lot of the chosen before me, right?” 

“I have, but I retain few memories of those times. Besides,” he took a step back for a wider view, “there is no one path. The miraculous decides what is best for the campaign and the particular chosen.”

They fell into silence as Ladybug withstood his scrutiny. It was a few long minutes before Truesight stepped back, nodding to himself. Minutes that Adrien spent feeling split between proud that Marinette was growing as a superhero and jealous that it wasn’t happening to him as well. Ultimately, pride in her won out. 

“So… what’s the verdict?” Rena asked.

“Something is definitely coming in. There are small nubs on her back and the top of her head. I have a few theories, but I think I’ll let it be a surprise.” He held up his hand to cut off the protests with a small smile. “Just trust me when I say change is on the way.”

Adrien slide in next to Ladybug. “That’s awesome, bugaboo! Maybe now you’ll be able to keep up with me on night patrols.” 

What he was sure was adorable banter died on her lips when she turned to face him, her eyes landing on his mouth. Everyone else had gone quiet.

“Is… something wrong?” Adrien was starting to fidget under their attention.

“Open your mouth for me and keep it open.” Truesight moved to stand in front of him, watching intensely as Adrien complied. A wry smile made its way onto his lips. “As I thought. You’ve got fangs now, son. Congratulations.”

“Aw, they’re cute!” His lady ruffled his hair while he ran his tongue over his newly lengthened canines. Or should he say felines? “How did you not notice before though?”

“Same way none of you fully grasp the true extent of your superhuman strength and agility - once you are transformed, it all _feels_ natural. The experience of lifetimes bleeding through the miraculous.” He took a sip of his flagon. “Same reason he won’t accidentally hurt himself with them.”

“That’s good to know,” Adrien murmured. “Are they practical?”

“I mean, they’d hurt if you bit someone I guess.” He shrugged. “But they aren’t new powers, if that’s what you’re getting at. They are a sign that you are becoming more attuned to Plagg’s energies, however. No doubt you’ll get some improvements soon too.” Another sip of his flagon. “Unsurprising, since the Ladybug and Black Cat are so in tune with each other.”

“While that’s awesome, dudes, does that mean we aren’t going to be getting any boosts soon?” Carapace gestured over to Rena Rouge, who didn’t even try to hide her interest. Both of them had a nervous air, likely expecting the worst and he couldn’t blame them. After the vampire akuma, it was made painfully clear how they needed every advantage they could get their hands on. 

“Normally, yes, it would take time to acclimate yourself to your kwami’s power.” He stepped towards them. “Thankfully, I am here. Not only does my presence naturally speed that process along, I know ways of deliberately strengthening the bonds. Unlike your companions, you won’t have to wait a year to start seeing results.”

“That’s great! Can we get started?!” Rena was bouncing with excitement, flute clutched in her hands as she grinned. 

Truesight chuckled. “That’s better reserved for one on one sessions. Let’s just do some sparring for now, aye?” He clapped his hands behind his back. “Carapace and Chat Noir, you’re up first.”

Adrien hesitated. “Shouldn’t I face Ladybug? We’re closer in skill level.” He shrugged apologetically to Carapace. “No offense, Shelly.”

“Dude, the only thing I took offense to is being called ‘Shelly.’”

Before they could banter some more, Truesight cut in gently, “The sword faces the shield. Besides, I want to study Carapace’s shield techniques and Chat Noir’s baton is the best way of doing that. No doubt I’ll be able to pass along some new tactics.”

“So you know how to use a shield too, huh? Sword and shield - just like a storybook hero, right?” Rena nudged him with her elbow.

“Actually, when I was an adventurer I used an _axe_ and shield. But then I got handed the Oath of the Sun,” he put a hand on the hilt of his sword, “and, well, it was good enough reason for change as any.” He cleared his throat and gestured at the two of them. “Anyway… begin when you’re ready.”

They sparred for about ten minutes, Adrien hoping that it wasn’t _too_ obvious that he was holding back for his best bud’s sake. True, he was doing better than he could expect seeing as how he’d only had one fight under his belt so far. But if Adrien really wanted to, he felt he could put this turtle on his back without much trouble. That’s why they had these matches, though. To learn their weaknesses and become stronger. 

“That’s enough.” Truesight stood, leaving the girls at the table as he walked towards them in the ring. He locked eyes with Adrien. “Holding back is admirable when facing friends, but the lad is tougher than you might think.” Turning to Carapace, he said, “That goes for you as well - you and your suit can shrug off a lot of punishment. Use that to your advantage in a fight.”

“Uh, dude? What do you mean? Just let them wail on me till they get tired?”

“Gods no. I mean- What about an example? Pass me your shield and watch me.” Once the green shield was on his arm, he swung it around to get a feel for the weight. He locked eyes with Adrien. “On the count of three, we’ll begin sparring. Do you best to get past my defense.”

His heart sank. It was hard enough when he was using a sword. Now he was actually using something _meant_ for defense. Then again, it didn’t cover a lot of him. Maybe it would end up being easier. Especially since Truesight wasn’t drawing his sword, so Adrien didn’t have to worry about his own defense, right?

“Three… two… one!” 

Adrien was bewildered when Truesight came barreling into him, shield held in front like a battering ram. As always ended up being the case, it was all he could do to stay one step ahead of Truesight’s attacks. The only saving grace was that Truesight backed off early and stopped the match.

“See what I mean, lad? Just because you only have a shield doesn’t mean you are any less capable of mounting an offense. A strong defense means you can be bolder, trusting in your armor to withstand blows that your allies cannot.”

“I… think I get it.” His eyes narrowed in determination as he looked up at Truesight. “Can I get another shot?”

Their mentor smiled. “In just a minute.” He motioned Chat Noir back to his seat as he dragged a straw dummy into the ring. “One thing I’ve noticed is that you people generally believe a shield is solely for defense. My people have other views. It was just as important a weapon as the axe, even if it wasn’t as damaging.” He wound his arm back and slammed the shield into the dummy’s face, knocking it to the ground.

“Oh yeah! I did that with the nosferatu head honcho. Too bad he was only stunned for a second.” 

“In battle, a second is often worth a lifetime. Especially if another of us can capitalize on it.” He passed the shield back to its owner. “Now, back to sparring.”

This time, Carapace didn’t have as much trouble keeping up with him, even if Adrien still had the advantage. It put his mind at ease to know that Nino was getting a grasp on fighting with his miraculous powers quickly. There were times that he was worried about dragging him into this, but if he hadn’t, then he would still be in danger. He just wouldn’t be able to protect himself if it came to that. At least now he could stand a chance, all while giving Adrien another teammate he knew he could count on.

Ladybug and Rena Rouge sparred, but their match was mostly uninterrupted. At least by Truesight. Half an hour into their fight, Ladybug had maintained her edge and had almost disarmed Alya. The only thing that stopped her this time was Truesight suddenly standing, eyes on the ceiling. Ladybug tried to ask something, but he gently shushed her. A few more moments passed before he looked back at them.

“A Great Enemy has entered our world. I suppose it is about time I took you on a hunt.” A few large strides took him to a shelf with his equipment. “Begin searching while I gird myself in armor.”

“Woah woah, back up,” Rena Rouge said while being helped to her feet by Ladybug. “You can’t just throw that on us like that. What are we facing? Where should we start looking? Stay together, or split up? Give us something to work with here.”

Truesight paused, looking up for a moment while holding a metal shoe. “In order: I’m uncertain. Somewhere near the Seine, you’ll have to sense magic like I’ve taught you to narrow it down. Teams of two. Then we converge on the beast.” Ladybug put a hand on Rena Rouge’s shoulder when she seemed about to start another round of questioning. 

“I think that’s about as much info as we’re going to get.” Ladybug stood tall and locked eyes with all the miraculous heroes in the room. “Come on, guys. Let’s show this monster that Paris is ours!” 

Soon, the four of them were combing the banks of the Seine from opposite ends. Rena Rouge and Carapace headed toward the south east while Adrien lead Ladybug west towards the Eiffel Tower. While normally he would gladly let her take the lead, the night was his time to shine. Unless some of her new powers were enhanced senses, then he’d be back to not being as useful again. He shook those thoughts aside just as they landed at their favorite spot, high above the Parisian skyline. It had taken them a few minutes of running over rooftops, but they reached it in record time. And, better yet, without anyone spotting them. 

Their hope was that the added height would somehow help them see the magic. The faster they tracked it down, the less damage it could do. Adrien took a deep breath and focused, drinking in the still quiet so high above Paris and feeling the cool night breeze rush past him. When he opened his eyes, he saw an overlay of new colors. He turned in place to look out across the city. Rather than the soft yellow and whites of the city lights, he saw a mosaic of all colors making up the city. Most were faded and pale, as though they had been drained of their color. But as he turned east, he saw a twisted knot of dark purple on an island in the river.

“Bugaboo… do you see that?” 

“You got the hang of this faster than me, kitty.” She looked in the direction that he was pointing in. “Seems like we’re heading towards Notre Dame.” She pulled out her yo-yo and opened it up. “I’ll let the others know so we can converge on it.”

Adrien allowed himself one last moment to take in the pastel vista before letting the magic sight fade and following his lady as she left.

\------------------------------------------------

The four of them were standing on a rooftop not far from the Notre Dame cathedral. Marinette was watching the monster by using the zoom function on her yo-yo, much like how Chat watched through his baton. Rena’s flute strangely didn’t have any similar feature, but there was plenty of space to watch on Carapace’s shield. Crouched in the middle of them was Truesight, who had his eyes, and more importantly his crossbow, trained on the creature.

Marinette was surprised to realize that it was trying to blend in. The way that Truesight talked about them, she expected it to be rampaging in the city streets. If it really was hiding, that it was doing a good job of it. Between the gangly arms, the short goat horns, the bat wings, stone skin, and wide, unnerving eyes, it did well blending in with the gargoyles adorning the cathedral. The only clues that had tipped them off that it wasn’t just a normal statue was the magic aura and having caught it shifting a couple times. 

“...The important thing to remember about the Great Enemy is that they are unused to being corporeal and adhering to the laws of mortal existence,” Truesight was saying. She chided herself for missing whatever he had started with.

Chat grinned. “At least we don’t have to worry about them speeding then.”

“I meant more the rules of reality, but sure. Anyway, their inexperience makes them fearless and vicious, a deadly combination given their innate strength.”

“Sounds like a rough combo, dude.” Carapace frowned at the image of the monster in his shield. 

“Strength is often a weakness all its own. Their fearlessness means they spare no thought for defending themselves, and their vicious natures makes them easily distracted.”

“Right. So what’s our plan of attack?” Chat Noir looked expectantly at him

“You tell me. I’ll stay here and cover you,” Truesight said while hefting his crossbow. “I’ll let you handle this one to see how you fare.”

The others shuffled nervously on their feet. Their only experiences so far with them were as civilians. Unless they counted the akumas bloated with Great Enemy energy. Marinette’s eyes narrowed. They had already faced worse than this - Hawkmoth was hardly pulling punches now. This time, they had surprise on their side and they were all together. 

She cleared her throat. “Alright, everyone. Here’s the plan…”

\------------------------------------------------

As it turns out, they hadn’t really needed a plan. For all the build up and anticipation, one good strike from Chat Noir had been enough to reduce the living gargoyle to rubble. With a rumble of thunder, Truesight appeared beside them and sheathed his sword. He placed a glass vial on the ground and pointed his palms toward the remains of the monster. Before long, it became fluid and funnelled into the vial.

After he’d picked it up, Rena Rouge crossed her arms and said, “I’m glad you did that because otherwise I would’ve just thought we’d broken a random gargoyle on Notre Dame. I thought those things were supposed to be tough?”

“They are… usually.” Truesight’s hand rested on the pommel of his sword and looked into the vial, which was barely a quarter filled. “Something was off about this one. It’s magic was faded, as if it had already been here for a while.”

“And you said they were way vicious. Why wasn’t it running around trying to grab dudes?” 

“Another good question and one I don’t have an answer for. I am… uneasy.” Truesight shook his head. “Anyway, at least now you’ve faced the threat. Keep an eye out for them on your patrols. If this one escaped notice for this long, who knows if there are others out there?”

“Hey!” Rena’s eyes lit up. “Couldn’t we use that magic sight thing to find Hawkmoth?”

“Nay. Any wizard worth the name can hide themselves from such a minor divination, and even if he is ignorant of magic, the miraculous have potent defenses anyway. Good attempt, though. I appreciate the effort.” He sighed. “I think that’s enough training for today. Go get some rest, kids.”

Taking his advice to heart, they all said their goodbyes and headed home.

\------------------------------------------------

The following afternoon, Marinette was laying in her back in her bed, holding her phone above her as she talked with Adrien over facetime. While it hadn’t even been a day since they’d seen each other, she had already started to miss him. One of these days, they needed to go on a date with just the two of them. It wasn’t an opportunity they got very often, with everything they needed to balance. At least classes were almost out for summer.

She glanced at the clock. “Oh! Sorry, kitty, I’m going to have to hang up now.”

“Got a hot date?” He smiled and brushed his hair back. “Wait, what I am saying? I’m not going to be there so of course you don’t. But seriously, what’s your plans for today? I’m sure I can get away if you’ll have me.” 

“I’m going to go talk with Chloe.” 

That got his attention and the smile faded away. “You’re… meeting with her?” His eyes drifted off to the pillow beside her as he no doubt wracked his brain. “...Why?”

“I think I can help her. Besides, she’s the one that came to me for help first. What was I going to do, say no?” She tried not to sound too defensive. 

He held up his free hand in surrender. “Hey, I’m not saying that it’s a bad idea or anything. I’d love to believe she’s changing for good, but she’s fooled me before. Still… it seems to be sticking so far. Whatever you’re doing, it must be working.”

“So far, all I’ve done is give her one honest talk and then listen to her for a while. I think you started it with how angry you got at her on New Year’s.”

“Well I’m glad me losing my cool worked out for once then. Serves her right, though, for going after you like that. No one messes with my lady.”

Marinette bit her lip. “I wasn’t your lady at that point, remember?”

“Details,” Adrien waved his hand dismissively. “You were, we just didn’t know it yet.”

“Really? I think _I_ knew it perfectly well, you were just clueless.”

“And now I’m making up for lost time by being the most wonderful boyfriend imaginable.”

“You know what the most wonderful boyfriend imaginable would do?” Marinette paused before continuing in a small, uncertain voice. “He’d go with his girlfriend to help save Chloe.”

Adrien took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Well… I did say that I’ve got your back no matter what you decided to do. For you? I’ll go and I’ll do what I can.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I can’t say that it won’t be awkward, though. I… was pretty harsh to her.”

She raised an eyebrow. “What happened to ‘served her right’?”

“Just because it was something she needed to hear doesn’t mean that it wasn’t harsh, bugaboo.” He stood up and the screen became blurry with all the motion. “Should I meet you at the bakery or what?”

“No, there’s a cafe that we’ve been meeting at and…” While Marinette filled Adrien in on the last time she met with her, she felt her spirit being lifted. Even if Adrien was just as clueless as she was on how to proceed, having him at her back made her feel all the more confident. 

\------------------------------------------------

Marinette listened silently from the sidelines as Chloe and Adrien did most of the heavy lifting for the conversation. 

Not that she was complaining - she had felt out of her depth in helping Chloe through her issues since she had no experience with the stuff that Chloe had gone through, but parental neglect? Gilded cages? Alienation from peers? Those were all things that her poor kitty understood only all too well. Under the table, she squeezed his hand and received a desperate grip in return. She could tell from the way his shoulders sat and the look in his eyes that this conversation was just as emotionally impactful on him as it was on his old friend.

From what she understood, the two had know each other practically since birth. Their parents ran in similar circles and they were frequently left with the same nanny. At least, until the incident that incited Gabriel to cut Adrien off as much as he could and only worsened when his mother vanished. Maybe that was partially to blame for how, in many ways, Adrien and Chloe were like strangers. How else could they have know each other for so long and yet only now begin to understand each other?

It had been an awkward start, like Adrien had predicted. They’d almost had to get up and leave, but just like last time, that had knocked some sense into Chloe. From there, they’d danced around the topic of their falling out. At least, they had been.

“You were right, you know,” Chloe stared out the window of the cafe, her chin resting on her hand.

Adrien sipped at his latte. “About what?”

“I just kept hurting people and then expecting them to love me for it. I want to be popular - to have people love me. But I can’t have that if I keep stepping on them.” She turned back to them. “I want to change.” Her hands wrapped around her coffee and she avoided their eyes by looking deep into the liquid. “But I… I still don’t know how.”

“I’m not surprised, with how much you looked to your mom about this kind of stuff.” Adrien’s voice was softer, but there was still an edge there. “She is super mean.”

“That's rich coming from you, son of _Gabriel Agreste_. The man who appeared on a TV show just to mock it?”

Adrien smiled and held up his mug to clink with Chloe’s. “No wonder your mom and my father get along so well. They’re both pretty terrible.”

The conversation petered out as the two of them became more interested in their cups than continuing to open up to each other. Marinette checked her phone and finished her drink.

“It’s getting late, guys. Ready to head home?”

They called for a check. Adrien insisted on paying for the meal, only for Chloe to seize the check at the last minute. While he grumbled, Chloe and Marinette kissed cheeks in parting.

“We’ll try to do this again sometime soon, I promise. In the meantime, keep trying to be your best self, okay? You’re doing great and we’re proud of you.”

Chloe nodded tearfully, struggling to maintain her composure. They parted ways outside the cafe and Marinette held onto Adrien’s arm as she leaned into him. They walked aimlessly for a while, enjoying the last rays of sunlight as they filtered across the sky. Adrien was the first to break the silence.

“You know… it’s not _too_ late. And we don’t have to be Adrien and Marinette to have a date.” 

With a shared grin, they ducked into an alley. A brief flash of red and green later and Ladybug and Chat Noir were running across the rooftops of Paris.

\------------------------------------------------

Tonight was Alya’s night to patrol solo. While it was definitely fun to have her boyfriend doing his best to plod after her, there was something to be said for the relative quiet you got above the cityscape. It did wonders for helping her think. And there was a lot that she had to think about, she reflected as she let her legs dangle over the edge of the building.

The photograph she found, for instance. Despite devoting extra hours to tracking down more, that one image was the only clear picture she’d found. Two miraculous users, active years before Ladybug and Chat Noir! Not only was it interesting all on its own, the photo could also be of a younger Hawkmoth. Which raised even more questions. Clearly he had some sort of strong bond with the woman and she’d watched Marinette gawk at Adrien enough to know a loving stare when she saw one. 

So who was this mystery woman and where was she? Equally important, where was her miraculous? If the Butterfly resurfaced, why didn’t the Peacock? As much as she would love to have the answers to all those questions, that vein of research had hit a dead end and trying to force it right now would just frustrate her. Better to focus on other things and come back with fresh eyes. 

Other things, like… oh, maybe Adrien as Chat Noir. _That_ raised a lot of questions, but it also solved a lot of issues she’d had in the past year of knowing the model, like the piece of the puzzle that let her see the image in its full glory. The disastrous Valentines date made sense at long last - no wonder he had a sudden surge of doubt when they walked into a shop dedicated to his crush. 

His crush…

Which brought her to her problem with this theory. Chat Noir had been getting pretty cozy with Ladybug recently. If he was indeed Chat Noir, then that meant that he was cheating on Marinette with Ladybug! It was hard to wrap her head around since he seemed like such a nice guy - in and out of the mask. She leaned back to look at the last fading rays of the sunset. Maybe she was wrong. After all, even when Ladybug vehemently denied being in a relationship with him (which, Alya was horrified to realize, she hadn’t done in a while) they were still very close and tender with each other. Yeah… there was probably nothing to worry about.

It was at this point that Alya saw two people running along the rooftops of Paris, heading towards the Eiffel Tower. Truesight couldn’t do that, and Carapace was nowhere near that graceful yet. It had to be Ladybug and Chat Noir. 

At night. 

Going to the Eiffel Tower. 

When they didn’t have patrol.

...Maybe she should check it out. Set her mind at ease, one way or another. What could it hurt?

\------------------------------------------------

It could hurt. Or, more precisely, Alya would hurt that two-timing cat bastard. 

They were so caught up in each other that they hadn’t even noticed a pair of eyes watching them from afar. She had thought to would have been difficult to pull off without a means of zooming in, but getting close enough hadn’t even been an issue. They were sickeningly enraptured with each other, and that was before they had shared their kiss.

A month ago, Alya would have snapped a picture and plastered it on the homepage of the Ladyblog. She would’ve been up all night, endlessly pleased that her ship had finally set sail. 

But now? All she felt was angry. Marinette deserved better than this, but Alya knew her heart was set on him. Besides, how could she tell her best friend about this? Assuming she’d even been in the mindset to take a picture to show her, she’d then have to reveal Chat Noir’s identity. Cheater or not, she couldn’t do that. It might have gotten Chat Noir in trouble, but she would’ve been in hot water too. 

No, talking to Marinette about this was out of the question. So that just left her with one option. 

Alya waited until Ladybug and Chat Noir split up. No doubt, Adrien was going home now, which was immediately proven when he started heading in that direction. Normally, at the end of patrol, Alya would head home herself but tonight she was going to the park.

And Adrien was going to meet her there.

\------------------------------------------------

It had been a long day for Adrien - early morning photoshoot, chatting with Marinette, reconnecting with Chloe, and making out on the Eiffel Tower. Any of those would have been enough to make his day interesting, but all four left him barely on his feet by the time he landed in his room. There was only a few more minutes left before the next day officially began and he knew he’d be up early. 

He let himself fall face first onto his bed, enjoying a few moments of relaxation before he got dressed for sleep. There was a calm stillness to his room, the only sounds being the ticking of his clock and Plagg’s near constant complaining, which inevitably just ended up being a part of the background noise of his life.

He nearly fell asleep then and there, except that his phone buzzed - not once, like he was expecting, but twice. The first message was what he had been anticipating. Marinette let him know that she had gotten home safely. Not that there was much to worry about when using your super powers to get back, but it set his mind at ease. After sending a text back to tell her that he also made it home, he opened the other message.

**Alya:** I know everything. Meet me at the park, now. I’m waiting.

“Well. I guess I was expecting this sooner or later, but I was kinda hoping that it would be way later,” Adrien spoke out loud, addressing the currently occupied trash bin that was Plagg’s summer home. 

“Huh?” Plagg zoomed over to read his messages. His tail began flicking back and forth in irritation. “I don’t like the looks of this, kid.”

“What’s wrong?” Adrien asked as he slipped on a jacket - it had gotten chilly out and he was going to show up in civilian clothes, just in case he read this situation wrong. “Alya was going to figure it out eventually. I just hope she hasn’t figured out anyone else’s identity.” He shrugged. “She probably just wants exclusive interviews or something.”

“What, you’re actually going to meet with her?”

“Sure.” At Plagg’s disapproving look, he added, “Oh come on, it's not that bad. This is Rena Rouge! If anyone figured it out, I’m glad it is someone on the team. We should at least see what she wants.” He took his kwami’s grumbling both as a concession and proof that he was recharged. “Plagg, claws out!”

It didn’t take long to track down Alya and find a discrete spot to detransform. It was a tucked away spot that she had chosen for them. If he had been anyone but Chat Noir, it would have been very difficult to have found her. A test, maybe? To prove her suspicions? If so, then he handed her the proof. 

She got to her feet as he arrived. He waved, only to abandon the gesture midway as she crossed her arms and glared at him.

“Hello, Chat Noir.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “So, uh, what gave it away?”

“Doesn’t matter. You know what does matter?” She paused for a few seconds. “You cheating on my best friend with Ladybug.” Then she was up close and personal, his entire vision a field of angry Alya practically growling at him. “This is your one chance, Agreste. Shape up and be the perfect boyfriend Marinette wants you to be. Or I will drag us _both_ down.” She tapped her foxtail necklace. “Understand?”

Too stunned to say anything, he desperately bopped his head as he took a step back. 

“Good. Let’s pounce.” 

A flash of orange and just like that, she was gone. 

Plagg silently floated up beside him. “So,” he said drily, “you gonna give her that exclusive interview then?”

\------------------------------------------------

“Well, it’s kinda funny,” Tikki shrugged, a ghost of a smile playing at her lips. “I’m just worried about how easily Alya pieced it together.”

Marinette spun around in her swivel chair to face Tikki. It had been four days since Adrien called her late at night, only half an hour after they had parted, and explained to her that Alya had discovered his secret identity. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she thought he was cheating on her with Ladybug. Marinette hadn’t been sure whether to laugh or cry.

“It _would_ be funny, if Al would start acting like everything was normal again.” Her glaring at Adrien all time was making things awkward in the group. On some level, she was touched that her friend was willing to go this far to protect her, but at the same time, the whole thing was silly and a mess. One that could be easily solved except… “Are you sure we can’t just have everyone come clean now?”

“School is out for summer now, right? Maybe some distance will help her cool down. Then you all can go right back to the usual again!” Tikki faltered a little. “Well, except maybe you should tone down the Ladybug and Chat Noir side. Just to be safe?”

Marinette put her head down on the desk, bringing her face level to Tikki. “Almost everybody knows everyone else now! The only secrets left are my identity for Alya and Nino to everyone. Can’t we just get it over with?”

“Well… maybe we can talk to Master Fu about this? It’s just… we can’t undo a reveal. Do we really want to strip away a little more protection? We need every bit of advantage we can get against Hawkmoth.”

“You might be right, but we need to be able to trust each other as a team and we can’t do that with Rena possibly being at Chat’s throat, right?” Tikki didn’t have a reply for that, instead pulling out her last and greatest defence - Kwami eyes, which was like puppy dog eyes but five times more powerful since their eyes took up so much of their bodies. Marinette felt her resolve crumbling. “Okay, okay, fine! But,” she held up her hand just as Tikki relaxed, “we’ll talk to Master Fu _and_ Truesight about it.”

“No fair! You already know what Truesight will say!”

“Oh? And you were completely in the dark about what Master Fu would want? At least now we can really weigh the options.” Tikki conceded the point with a sigh. “Well, let’s head over. Spots on!”

The transformation gave her extra energy, enough to shake off her tiredness. While she was hesitant to visit them so late, she knew this was important and she’d rather get it resolved now. Maybe she could even get the whole team together? Tomorrow was Saturday and even Adrien would have some spare time. Enough to reveal everything and let them get their freakouts over with. 

Marinette was pulled out of her thoughts when she saw a fire truck race past on the street below. The wind shifted and the smell of something burning reached her. An awful feeling settled in her gut and she suddenly became hyper focused. She moved as fast as she could towards Master Fu’s shop and realized with dawning horror that the smell was getting stronger and there was an orange glow reflecting off the surrounding buildings. Maybe it was a small fire, or maybe it was a neighbor? There were two old and powerful masters of the miraculous inside the building. It couldn’t just go up in smoke! 

Her hopes were dashed when she reached the edge of the apartment she was running over and looked down to see Master Fu’s quaint little shop entirely engulfed in flames.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this new chapter! While I will be working on this story in increments, I *will* be busy with Marichat May, Ladrien June and Ladynoir July. I hope to have another update within a month, but we'll have to see how well that works out. 
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me during this story, and I hope you will be looking forward to the next chapter!


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